On Mon, 4 Jun 2001, Russell Chapman wrote:
> "Marvin Long, Jr." wrote:
>
> > I'm curious to know (in all honesty and without snideness) what people
> > think America's future holds...besides the obvious, which is more wealth
> > in the short term.
>
> Ever read "The Postman" by a certain list-related author?
> While war was the catalyst in the book, I wonder how America's disenfranchised
> masses will react in the long term - will the anti-government forces among the
> people rise up one day - you seem to have so many for a democracy (or a
> republic).
> Black militants, white supremacists, and everything else in between seem to
> have a plan to get rid of the government one way or the other and install
> their own brand of justice and rights. Hollywood continues to perpetuate the
> "can't trust the government" theme at every opportunity, and it continues to
> be a popular theme.
It's my impression that these groups are a lot more marginalized than they
might appear from a Hollywood mediated perspective. Besides, how are we
going to get white supremacists and black militants to join forces? :-)
The "can't trust the government" theme in popular entertainment seems to
me to have a negligible effect on public awareness of government behavior.
Movies and thriller novels are so over-the-top in their conspiracy
theories that they can't usually be taken seriously. I can't help but
feel that our entertainers are "crying wolf" when they harp on these
themes; it makes the more boring but more important aspects of
government corruption seem uninteresting by comparison.
> There were even reports of anti-government groups moving to Idaho this week
> because the sheriffs were involved in a siege and they want to be part of the
> action.
Ah, welcome to the midwest, where God is on our side....
Marvin Long
Austin, Texas
