"4 Ways We Are Still Fighting The Civil War"

[JimD]

CNN did a cool story with this title yesterday:

My link

 

I think, after ruminating on it a bit, that there are some curious parallels between the 4 things the author lists and the cause we have been advocates of for so long.

 

1)The disappearance of the political center.

This absolutely has a big impact on us. The further the two sides of our political spectrum get from each other, the less likely reasonable compromises are to be reached. Mr Komorn had an interesting quote that sums this problem up nicely. In response to the raid on the Teichman's he mused that it would have been cheaper and more civil for PA Cooper to just file an injunction in Oakland County and then let lawyers hash it out. There was no need to expend county funds, and no need for citizens making an earnest attempt to stay within the law to go to jail.

 

2)How much power should the federal government have?

Do I really need to explain this one? Our fight is all about the federal government sticking their nose, via the DEA and political pressure, into what should be a state and local issue.

 

3)Unleashing the Dogs of War

The author Emory Thomas is quoted in the article,"Once you commit to war, you don't have any control over how it ends," That is a big part of this isn't it? The bureaucratic structure, the corrections structure, the drug task forces, etc. All created as a result of Nixon declaring a War on Drugs. Nobody seems to know what will happen to the thousands of corrections officers that wouldn't be needed any longer with legalization. The status quo is easy to maintain, but painful and often expensive to shift away from.

 

4)The President as a dictator

From Nixon till now, each prez has left their mark. Forbidding research, cutting off aid to places MJ friendly, proxy wars in Colombia, etc. All things done by decree, not democracy.

 

So what do you guys think? I have yet to determine in my musings if drawing this parallel helps us at all. The Civil war ended when resources and able bodies were nearly used up...we can hope for the feds to go bankrupt I guess.