Insurgency and Counterinsurgency….

POSTNOTE Jan. 30, 2021:  On or about Feb. 8, 2021, the Impeachment trial will begin in the U.S. Senate, relating to events including Jan. 6.  The most comprehensive summary on the issue I have thus far seen is this post, filed overnight, Jan. 30.

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This post is an invitation to consider where we, as individuals, stand in this divided nation at this point in our history.  Following are several diverse opinions which came to me this month, which I think are worthy of your time to read.  They speak for themselves.  Where do you fit in this big picture?

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This chilly morning in Minnesota I elected to do my walk indoors at the nearby community sports center.

This day the normal quarter-mile route was split in two.  Next door was a group of perhaps 30 police practicing.  “Move back” was the tactic being practiced when I walked by the first few times.  It was mindful of the unrest we’ve witnessed recently.  I’m sure it was not a coincidental activity – the recent events at our Capitols have focused on relationships of all sorts and the roles of law enforcement and government in these.

On our walking path, which was fairly crowded partly because of reduced space, four old guys (my age group) sauntered along, abreast, chatting.  All were moving slowly, causing the rest of us to have to go around them.  Envision two cars driving slowly and abreast on one side of a busy four lane highway.  The only alternatives for others are to stay behind the cars, or to pass on the shoulders.  I don’t think it even occurred to the men, all friends, that they were not respectful to the rest of us.  (They did wear masks, which are required.  They didn’t keep social distance.  They were basically oblivious to us.  No one suggested to them they were a problem; we had the luxury of being able to go around them.)

Back home, an e-mail from Jeff included a link to a column in today’s New York Times.  Here is the pdf version: Robert Grenier NYTimes 1/27/21 “How to Defeat America’s Homegrown Insurgency”

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Here are the “homegrown” opinions from my inbox in recent days:

1 – from D, Jan 15: I suspect that many, if not most, of the people who attended Trump’s rally on the morning of Jan. 6 were simply there to support him. Among those folks, a certain percentage believed that Trump won the election but “they” stole it from him. They weren’t happy about it, but knew that Biden would take office and they would work to further the Trump agenda and help him retake the White House in 2024.

A smaller, much more dangerous, subset of the rally attendees, were the TRUE true believers. They believed that Trump not only won the election but that he absolutely would continue in office after the inauguration. Further, they believed that they had support from people in congress, the vice president, and law enforcement. All they had to do, they believed, was show up at the capitol and they would be welcomed with open arms. When met with resistance, they were shocked. Kind of like the religious end-of-world predictors who simply cannot believe that the world is still intact after their date certain. A woman who had been maced was incredulous that once she’d forced her way into the capitol, the police maced her. These people feel betrayed and won’t simply go away. No one knows what they do next. Hopefully, they will be marginalized and Republicans who know better will finally put country before self interest and work to repair the damage done by four years of lying incompetence and malevolence.

2 – from KB, Jan 20: Interesting line in the David Ignatius piece you linked in postnote 2:

“But even as the Biden administration attacks the most seditious members of the insurrection, it should consider a tactic that’s quite radical in the current political climate — listening to the other side.”

Immediately after Trump’s surprising 2016 victory there was a lot of talk among the pundits about their collective failure to understand the mood of America and anticipate that result. I wonder if the pundits, or political leaders, have become wiser since then? Listening couldn’t hurt.

Thoughts towards a better world.

3 – from K, Jan 21: Mr. Biden is being naive to think his election can bring unity back to our country.  Half the voters are joyous while half feel betrayed and saddened.  For more than 4 years Dems and their media acolytes have been filled with bigotry, hatred, and spewed vicious verbal venom at Trump and have repeatedly called him an illegal president, setting the stage for the ensuing civil unrest which plagues us today. Remember the “peaceful” ? transfer of power Trump received for 4 years after his election? There is such profound hatred in Dems they even want to silence the 75 million Trump voters and have even mentioned deprogramming them!  Democrats and the media would scream to high heaven if they were purged from all social web sites. So much for free speech!  Notice the liberal ACLU is silent!  Have you noticed since the election the overtly biased media have sidelined their offensive team and have sent in their defensive team?   Several million Americans expect Mr. Biden to screw up our country so bad that the 2022 election will be a retributive bloodbath for Dems, with even many moderate Dems voting to oust many liberal Dem socialists.  With Biden and or the media crowd calling Trump voters thugs, racists, deplorables, white nationalists, and terrorists they now expect unity from Trump voters?!?!?!  In 2020 Trump campaigned TO the people (note his huge crowds), while Biden avoided campaigns and interviews and hid in his basement and let his vengeful friends talk DOWN to Trump voters and engaged mainly in electioneering.  Biden will achieve national unity when pigs fly, or maybe possibly when Dems utter a SINCERE mea culpa to purge their hatred and bigotry for people on the other side of the fence.  The Dems not only have knocked Trump down, they kicked him while down and now want to rub salt in his wounds. This disrespectful bigotry by the left may even cause Trump and his half of the country in 2022 to rise like a Phoenix out of the ashes from the Dem’s dumpster and quell the Dem egotistic power trip.  Please spare me any (usual liberal slay the messenger) response and instead call for a genuine peace treaty and extend an olive branch as kind of mind changing atonement meds to the swamp leftists in an attempt to purge their chronic systemic bigotry, systemic hatred, and systemic intolerance of American citizens who walk along a different path towards a free great productive country, while carefully and thoughtfully avoiding socialistic leg hold traps and the bottomless puddles of liberal quicksand. We can now watch for a rising China and a sinking United States, many more “Made in China” and less “Made in America” products in our stores; more illegal aliens; increasing American employee layoffs; jobs and companies moving to China; more citizen victimization; higher taxes; increasing homelessness; more goofy gender classifications to de-sex or re-sex   the population; higher gasoline prices if even available; continued contempt for American history, and the green light for the destructive cancel culture crowd.  One area which Biden certainly will excel will be in the sheer number of vindictive dystopian bass ackward executive orders he will sign.  Trump built a wall at the southern border to keep out illegal aliens, but Biden built a fence around the Capital Building with 25,000 armed guards to keep out legal American citizens.  For several months Dem mayors and Governors let protestors riot, brutalize police, destroy, burn, and pillage many cities with impunity while police were ordered to stand down.  Anyone arrested went to jails with the revolving door type of Democrat justice. But when Republicans rained on the Dem’s parade police had to arrest as many as possible, take them to jail and throw away the keys. One green goon suggested Iowa corn fields be converted to windmill farms that won’t produce during calm weather, or solar farms that won’t produce at night. Imagine enduring Iowa’s July and August weather without air conditioning when the temp and humidity hover in the high 90’s, also what are we going to eat, tofu, rice, and raw fish produced in non-unionized China wet sweatshops?
PS: Unity may return when Dem’s offer atonement for their incessant uncivil behavior, and promise to govern to the center rather than just for the aspiring Banana Republic leftists.

4 – from L, Jan 22: What an incredibly uplifting [Inauguration] day!!II