America's Cultural War

I worked with a guy several years ago who said, "America's next civil war will be between the 'haves' and the 'have nots', when they are led to believe they have a right to everything the 'haves' worked all their lives for".  Hadn't thought of it until a month or so ago, but I think he was on to something.

"This is not the culture war of the 1990s. It is not a fight over guns, gays or abortion. Those old battles have been eclipsed by a new struggle between two competing visions of the country's future. In one, America will continue to be an exceptional nation organized around the principles of free enterprise -- limited government, a reliance on entrepreneurship and rewards determined by market forces. In the other, America will move toward European-style statism grounded in expanding bureaucracies, a managed economy and large-scale income redistribution. These visions are not reconcilable. We must choose."  (emphasis added)

An excellent piece by Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute.  Four pages but worth reading.

Put that quote together with this one from Western Rifle Shooters Association,

Do you understand that scores of millions of your fellow Americans ("Americans" at least by nation of residence, if not by individualist ethics) would tear you and yours into bloody chunks were you ever to attempt to reduce their "benefits"?

A few weeks ago, just before the April 19th Second Amendment March, when there was all sorts of media frenzy over tea parties, no less than Bill Clinton quoted Billy Beck's line, "All politics in this country now is just dress rehearsal for civil war."  I believe this is what he's referring to.