It's physics, pure and simple.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

Ever see a car engine so far out of tune it literally exploded, throwing shrapnel out through its own casing?

Ever watch a spinning top, noting how as it loses its energy, it starts to wobble from side to side until it kicks its own base out from under itself?

Ever see a generator suffer stress fractures around its bearings and then suddenly literally blow itself apart because its axis went violently out of alignment?

Ever see an aging democratic republic suddenly start doing everything not from real world needs, but to satisfy the political theories of a cabal of empty intellects? It suddenly finds itself so top-heavy with dead weight and faulty, contradictory actions, that before our very eyes it suddenly spins out of control, tips upside down, and becomes a fascist dictatorship bent on war, death and destruction.

Looking at today's news, I suddenly realized I am witnessing exactly that. And I believe this once-stable country I am observing has gone WAY too far out of balance to ever become a stable democracy again.

If I were you, I'd stand well back, because the impending explosion of off-balance self-destruction is gonna be a beaut.

It's physics, pure and simple.

[greyl]

1. I see what you mean and...

That valid idea can be taken farther using a "Systems Theory" approach. (which is totally compatible with physics)
There is a crisis of perception at our culture's most base level which fails to acknowledge the interconnectedness of all things.
This throws things out of balance and creates palpable dissonance.

We are allowed to go against "laws of nature", but we remain subject to the laws. Imagine a man pedaling away furiously in the cockpit of an experimental aircraft launched from the top of a cliff. On the way down he may say "the propeller is spinning, I seem to be moving forward, everything is great". Then he notices the earth getting closer and thinks "well, I'll just pedal harder - that'll fix it". If the craft wasn't built according to the laws of aerodynamics it will inevitably crash no matter how hard he pedals. But the pilot won't admit that till it's too late.

Our culture right now is like that man about 3/4's of the way down. Everyone still believes that pedaling faster will fix it. However, that will never overcome the fatal flaws in our current craft of choice.

I'm not saying we're destined to crash to the ground, I'm saying we need to get a new airplane. ;)


edit: i won't pass up the opportunity to recommend the movie "Mindwalk" - a conversation between a physicist, a poet, and a US Senator. Also, the pedaling man metaphor is drawn from Daniel Quinn's "The Story of B".

[Resistance Is Futile]

2. A more apt analogy

A more apt analogy would be someone hooking up a generator to a large power grid when both devices are 180 degrees out of phase. The generator looks just fine until the tie relays are closed. Big bang, parts go everywhere. In both the American and generator cases, the problem is caused by applying exactly the wrong input at exactly the wrong time. In the American case, the tie relay hasn't been closed yet, but the sync lights are wired up backwards and no one is listening to the electricians who are screaming at the supervisors to get the system fixed.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

3. Ooh, I LIKE that!

Thanks!

[patdem]

4. If you (we) I just don't claim the smart part)) are so damned smart..

..why the hell are we NOT in power right now? What you say is so PERFECT. Why can't we get it into newspapers...and ope eds all over the country? Do you write Letters to the Editor..or LTTE's as they are called here? If I was half as smart of you three I would be spreading my wisdom far and wide!!! Go for it guys and gals...there is a hungry crowd out there wanting what you have to say!

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

5. I don' t think the momentum can be overcome anymore

short of all-out civil war. And if it keeps up the way it has been, and they don't relent, it could easily lead directly to just that.