Days of rage

"Putting them all together, you had a cauldron of trouble, just waiting to boil over." 

The year was 1968. The place - Chicago. The event - the Democratic National Convention. The outcome? Riots and mayhem. The riots replaced the events happening inside the convention hall as the news. It really was the beginning of a very turbulent time in our country. And I think we are about to return to the future by reliving that past.

I was 18 years old, fresh out of high school. I never protested nor rioted. I did however, endeavor to understand why some people my own age did. Some had valid reasons. Like being dragged into a war (via the draft) that was run by political idiots. Others wanted to protest the racial inequality in America. Environmentalists railed against the effluents coming out of corporate America. Some gals burned their bras (seriously). And then you also had folks like Abbie Hoffman and Yipees who just wanted "revolution for the hell of it". Putting them all together, you had a cauldron of trouble, just waiting to boil over.

This summer we have two national conventions coming up in two very troubled cities. And the folks are restless. Donald Trump is calling for "Days of rage" if the RNC tries to snatch the nomination away from him. Others are calling for massive protests outside the convention hall in Cleveland. Some want to protest Donald Trump. Some want to protest the Republican Party. Black Lives Matter want to protest over-policing. And George Soros is rumored to be funding much of this.

However, the biggest problem in my book are many of the people who will not be out in the street. People like me, and many I know. We are mad, we are frustrated. Our country seems to have been hijacked by two different political parties who once in power, look more like the Bobbsey Twins than rivals. We are being taxed to the poor farm only to see our hard earned dollars spent on folly. And even with our confiscatory taxation, the national debt continues to grow like an untreated cancer.

Politicians like the Clintons go to Washington dirt poor and come out eight years later worth tens of millions. The number of millionaires in the House and Senate is staggering. After a career in Congress, many become slaves to the K Street Mafia right down the road. And meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck in a rut. Nothing changes, nothing gets better. 

President Obama has really done a job on this country. He is a man of his word. He said he would transform us, and indeed he did. We are like a fractured vase, just waiting to crumble. Our Constitution is looked at by many as an historical obstacle rather than a road map to a free and democratic future.

Are we in for a long hot summer? Another 1968? More days of rage? I believe the table is set. Trouble is in our future.