David

Karki

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October 27, 2008

Peter vs. Paul: Is America About to Split?

“Give me liberty or give me death!”  – Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

“We want pie! We want pie!”  – Crowd chanting at an Obama campaign rally, October 21, 2008

Things have truly come full circle – from a Virginia patriot's eloquent plea to his countrymen to fight for their right of self-determination, to a Miami crowd demanding a Marxist con-artist shakedown their fellow citizens. We have turned from a nation of rugged individualists to one where half the population demands to live as parasites.

We once were proud to provide for ourselves because we knew that, in order to be free, we had to accept that responsibility. Now, a slim majority is proud to shirk their responsibilities and expects others to provide for them, so much so that they think government exists to effectively stick a gun in someone else's back and steal their money.

The old saying goes: “When you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can count on two things: Peter's anger and Paul's undying support.” I think it forgot a third thing, which is the inevitable logical conclusion of the process – Peter and Paul beating each other senseless. As Paul demands more and more of Peter, eventually Peter reaches the “enough is enough” breaking point and refuses to participate further. At the same time, Paul has been receiving Peter's money for so long that he has come to believe that it's his entitlement, and so feels “robbed” when Peter stops paying. The next thing you know, fists are flying, if not bullets.

This is no way to build a stable, highly functioning society. In fact, as the above example illustrates, it's a very efficient way to undermine and destroy one. And I fear that we are on the verge of precisely that. Half of this country appears determined to use government to force its Marxist worldview on the half that still values the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which make America “a shining city on a hill.” These two worldviews are fundamentally incompatible, and can no more be made to successfully mix than can oil and water.

Whichever side of that you may fall on, whichever worldview you may hold (if either), it should be pretty clear to all that a house so divided cannot possibly stand for much longer.

So the question must be asked: If this is so, then is it not pure folly to try? Would we not be much better served by simply dividing into two (or more) countries, thereby allowing both sides to live under the system each prefers? Does it really have to come to the point where real hostilities break out – which, given how inter-mixed the respective populations now are, with lots of liberal suburbs/cities polka-dotting otherwise conservative exurbs/rural areas, stands to be far bigger and bloodier than the first Civil War?

As I look at this enormous divide, which has been crystal clear since 2000, I see two variables that will dictate the outcome. One, just how much longer will the productive (a.k.a “Peters”) continue to accept being forced to subsidize the non-productive (a.k.a. “Pauls”)? At what point will enough be enough and conflict chosen (if not financially compelled)? Two, will the non-productive be willing to let the productive go? Will the Pauls ever realize that the Peters' anger is reactive, directly in response to the Pauls' attempts to coerce participation in an immoral arrangement that directly injures them?

I think I speak for much of conservative America when I say that if Sen. McCain wins the presidency, and liberal types react by talking about joining up with Canada or something (hasn't Vermont already?), I would wish them a pleasant bon voyage – and don't let the door hit your butt on the way out. And that frankly, it's about time some Hollywood types finally made good on their unfulfilled public promises to leave the country back in 2000 and 2004.

But if the reverse occurs, if Sen. Obama wins and along with Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid sets about recreating the Soviet Union at breakneck pace, and conservatives react by talking about secession or something, I can't imagine the former letting the latter go without a big fight.

Ostensibly, they would need all our money to keep funding their socialist redistribution schemes – witness the Democrats' plan to abolish 401(k) tax breaks, so as to seize as much of the $3 trillion Americans have saved for their retirements as they can, in order to prop up the demographically doomed Social Security for a little while longer.

Moreover, they know from the examples of West and East Germany and North and South Korea that they cannot have a nation next door that would by comparison illustrate so clearly how big a failure their Marxist experiment would be. Not to mention serving as a convenient place to which their citizens can escape.

Lastly, totalitarianism is part and parcel of their worldview; hence, universal health care, universal pre-school and so on. The first syllable of the word says it all – total, as in everyone. Your participation is required. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. (The last phrase is from The Borg on Star Trek, but it's hard to tell the difference these days.)

So it comes down to this: Will conservative Peter rise up in force? Will liberal Paul consent to ending the arrangement before it comes to that? I think the initiative lies with Paul, as he is causing Peter's reaction and thus has it in his power to stop it.

But if I had to guess, I'd answer “eventually, yes, and that time is closer than you think” to the former query and “not a chance in hell” to the latter. Which means no matter the outcome on November 4, we're in for a pretty bumpy ride.  

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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