The troubles went on in Northern Ireland for thirty years or so, with one side trying to unite Ireland and the other trying to keep Protestant Northern Ireland as a part of England.
Bombings and shootings were common. Most notably were the assassinations, or more precisely, the murders of Ross McWhirter, co-founder of The Guinness Book of World Records, and Lord Mountbatten, who was nearly 80 when a bomb planted on his boat exploded.
Terrorism works, killing civilians and blowing things up, disrupting the normal with bloodshed, and tying your opponent down with hit-and-run killings and destruction, is a time-honored and proven method of bringing power to the table to talk.
Personally, I think attacking civilian targets in general, and the elderly in particular, is cowardly and destroys any moral authority a cause might have, but it does work. It did bring about change in a system that had been in place for quite some time.
When a bomb exploded in Nashville Tennessee on Christmas Day, I waited. I waited for a message from some fringe group, some lone wolf terrorist, somebody out there who was about to open Pandora’s Box in America, a country founded on fighting the same empire the IRA waged war against many years ago.
The idea that it might have been a suicide bomber never occurred to me. My mind had skipped off down the road of worse cases, and in my mind, trust me when I say, worst cases are exactly that. I saw an America torn apart, a police state where everyone was a suspect, cameras everywhere, drones patrolling sports events, people mistrustful, hate building between one faction and another with every attack, reprisals between groups, roadblocks manned by soldiers, and the blood of those whose capability, and willingness, to wage war upon their fellow citizens would be nonexistent, yet spilled nevertheless.
Nashville would be the beginning, and perhaps the epicenter, and it would join a long list of cities like London, Saigon, Beirut, and a thousand others in human history where bombs spoke louder than any other voice.
Yet we are not there, not yet, and we should listen now, to voices other than bombs, for now, we realize we still have time, and we still have peace, such that it may be in this country, and it is not too late, at this moment.
We can still set aside our differences, we can still speak without fear and grief, we can still come together as one people, if not with one ideal for this nation, then with one voice against what will happen if we do not. We can show America to be that place, that dream, that can avoid what others could not, to see past the vision of destruction, and rebuild before there is a fall.
The sound of an explosion woke many people in Nashville, a city of music and of talent and of song. Perhaps, we should hear now, and perhaps that sound is a clarion call, not of hate and of violence, but a call to action, a call for patriots not to arm themselves, but to sit together and see, eye to eye, with those with whom they disagree, yet still see America.
Take Care,
Mike
There is a sizeable minority in this country that, among other things, refuses to accept facts and refuses to recognize anyone who looks or acts differently. They are mostly incapable of taking a subject or an idea or a construct and examine the facts around that issue and change their minds if the facts reveal their beliefs are wrong. Their brains are hardwired in such a manner that they are unable to change their core values. As much as I would like to see your last sentence come to fruition, those folks would turn kumbaya into kumbanah.
I don’t think it will be easy but I do not think it will be impossible. After all, we talked people into believing soft drinks were a good form of hydration.
Clearly the logical course of action but those other guys, the ones oppressing my freedoms, won’t cooperate.
Bruce, take your meds and don’t talk to strangers; you’ll be okay.
Nashville is close to home and I wanted to share this to my facebook but couldn’t, so without your permission, I C&P. As the saying goes, “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission”
Ted, go for it. I’m always willing to get the word out on something like this. I’m flattered actually.
Until the media and a certain cult of people are willing to acknowledge that we have a domestic white right wing terrorism problem, there will never be any setting aside of differences. Period. Full stop.
I think that realization is coming. I also think it’s going to be ugly before we see it looking good again.
As has happened on the 6th. As will most likely happen again on the 20th. Which I am willing to take a very unpopular opinion: Bring in the Guard with shoot to kill orders. Some of the cultists already feel betrayed by trump with his concession speech, the rest might finally see the light when he absolutely shows no empathy for them as they lie dying in the streets. That’s what it took for the Germans in WWII.