Written by michael payne   

The signs are everywhere; America is rapidly heading in a direction which cannot be sustained. Look around at the rising anger, dissension, the deep divides among factions within this country, plus an ever-increasing level of violence and it’s within reason to conclude that America is heading directly into a societal crisis, a police state or, very likely, both.

The divisions in this country are very, very deep, with such a degree of divisiveness that we haven’t seen since the bloody Civil War. And the worst part of this dilemma is that all signs point to the fact that it’s only going to get worse – a lot worse.

Opposing factions, both political and societal are on the rise. The North versus South mentality still exists. Then there are the Republican radical conservatives versus liberal and progressive Democrats; we have those who thrive on and profit from wars versus those who are working hard to establish peace in the world. And there is a clear division between those who care about their fellow Americans versus those who only think about themselves and have no empathy or understanding of the plight of others.

And, because of these massive divisions, this is a country that is headed for very troubling times. When we have 313 million Americans split into so many opposing factions that refuse to reach a common consensus relative to the myriad problems in this country and who doggedly hold fast to only their own ideologies, then you have a nation that is in the process of tearing itself apart.

The great resistance to the ongoing evolution of this society; the underlying anger of those in this country who simply cannot and will not accept the fact that demographic changes coming in the future will see Hispanics, African Americans, Asians and other minorities become the majority population in America. That does not set well with many Americans who steadfastly resist this inevitable change to come and find it to be completely unacceptable.

Some astute observers of what is happening fear that we are headed for a societal eruption of some kind while others are predicting the emergence of a police state. Let’s simply project the current level of violence, dissension, mounting anger, diminishing income, together with a growing police presence that is taking place in this country and it is almost certain that we are headed directly toward one or both of those alarming outcomes.

It’s kind of like the old riddle, ““Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” To my way of thinking as I view the evidence at hand it appears that it is most likely that the unrest and hopelessness caused by joblessness, the huge disparity of wealth in America, the increasing crime and violence in this society, plus the mounting governmental restrictions on the Constitutional rights and freedoms of the people, at some point in the near future, will meet head on with an ever increasing police presence and we could easily find ourselves living in a police state.

A nation in which society turmoil is rapidly increasing is ripe for something really frightening and unexpected to happen. There is not the slightest question that the proliferation and lack of control of firearms in this nation is at the center of the increasing levels of violence. There are about 270 million firearms of all types in the U.S. but slightly less that 33% of this nation’s people own them; the obvious conclusion must be that a clear minority of Americans personally own a great many of them, that they are armed to the teeth.

Those who are obsessed with the 2d Amendment and who believe that there should be no restrictions of any kind on gun ownership; no background checks, no limitations on the size of ammunition magazines, or any ban on assault weapons, continuously warn that the people need them in order to arm themselves against an approaching police state.

Sorry to take down this unsupported argument, but if we ever get to the point in America where a police state emerges and takes control of this society, the idea that 33% of Americans who own guns would be able to combat such a powerful force represents no more than delusional thinking. And the biggest reason is that a very large portion of that 33% of gun owners would stay in their homes and not get involved with a battle with an overwhelming force.

We are already seeing a growing police presence in this country as law enforcement gears up take measures to deal with conditions. They see the increased violence and the proliferation of guns, and they see a Congress that just refuses to confront this issue and come up with effective ways to bring it under control. It’s very apparent that in many cases police have been overreacting in many situations by dealing with demonstrations and protests by using more force than necessary, using batons, tear gas and powerful chemical sprays.

For those who haven’t been paying attention recently, the federal, state and municipal governments are developing plans to fill the skies over America with drones; you know what drones are, right? Now if people think that these drones will be used strictly for traffic control, to gather weather data or to concentrate on land surveys, they better think again. They are going to be used to a great degree for surveillance purposes, by police departments and associated agencies to monitor and control what is going on in this society. It’s called “taking preventative measures” and it’s coming to a city or town near you real soon.

So, there is one thing that we can fully expect. The more violence and unrest that the police see happening in America the more that they will find ways to confront and stop it. There may be nothing wrong with peaceful protests and demonstrations but, very often, police who feel a great danger can overreact as we so clearly saw during the demonstrations by the members of the Occupy Movement and student demonstrations around the country that were readily snuffed out by the powerful arm of the law.

Want to know how this society can hasten the emergence and establishment of a police state in this country? Well, how about the latest developments in which police officials have been gunned down by those who are now brazenly taking revenge against them? Lately, we’ve heard about the murders of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife in Texas which was especially alarming because they happened just a couple of months after one of the county’s assistant district attorneys, Mark Hasse, was killed near his courthouse office and a short time after Colorado’s prison chief was slain right at his front door, quite likely by either a white supremacist or an ex-convict.

And on April 3, Mingo County Sheriff was shot and killed right outside the Mingo County, West Virginia courthouse. This is clear evidence of just how very violent this society is becoming. You can be certain of this; once police become targets and endangered species in this country, then look out for they will strike back with massive lethal force; they aren’t going to allow this country to slide into anarchy.

This is the direction that we in America are heading into if this nation, its government, this society and its people continue on their present course where there no longer remains any room for compromise of any kind relative to controlling the sources of violence in this country; where there is no common understanding and direction and where opposing ideologies are hell bent to maintain their viewpoints no matter what the cost to this society may be. This is a nation that is needs to awaken and find the ways to reverse the direction in which it is heading. The alarms are sounding all around us and it’s time that all Americans heed the warnings.

So where do we go from here? How can such a national catastrophe be prevented from ever taking place? The one missing, nonexistent element in America today that we desperately need to deal with this approaching crisis as well as the many other critical problems this nation faces is – strong, fearless leadership; the kind that has been present during this nation’s most trying times and which represents the only means by which a major catastrophe can be averted. But, to our misfortune it’s not there; there is not one so-called leader in America today who has the courage and conviction to stand on the national stage and take on the challenge to stabilize this nation and lead it in a new direction; not even one.

In the complete absence of this kind of leadership, its seems inevitable that this nation is headed directly into a situation in which an irresistible force, a social eruption, and an immovable object, a police state, will meet head on.
Michael Payne