America is losing the ability to function as a civil society.

[dawg]

And the fault lies entirely with one side. The other side, if anything, doesn't fight back hard *enough*.

[Drale]

1. The only way to fight back hard *enough*

would be to become everthing we hate, and start using violence.

[readmoreoften]

4. Not really. Organizing mass movements like you see in Greece, the UK, and France is not "violence."

Sitting back and letting anti-worker legislation, fascists, racists and homophobic thugs harm people is not "non-violent" its just the tacit acceptance of murder and violence and the refusal to stand up for yourself and have a modicum of dignity.

[TheKentuckian]

5. We are perfectly capable of responding and even fighting back without becoming everything we hate

Though your "everything I hate list" may vary.

I didn't sign up for a capitulation and cower party. Neither are part of my values.

[DJ13]

2. As life has been cheapened by the elites, it loses its importance for many

Everything from pointless wars to lost jobs, homes, and wages under constant threat, all so the chosen few can lead ever better lives at everyone else's expense ......is what is leading to the break down in our society.

Sadly both party's play a role in creating those conditions.

And it wont get any better at the rate our economy has been decaying.

[truedelphi]

7. Yes, I agree. Both parties are at fault.

When Obama extended the notion of "bi partisanship" to include being tolerant of the Republicans ability to act as vicious hateful and violent as they wanted to at Town Hall Meetings, without any rules or protocols, (I guess in a way to show his appreciation for some weird and deformed idealization of "democracy") then Obama allowed and encouraged this to happen.

Town Hall Meetings, prior to the Obama Administration, had always included protocols. You came early to such a meeting and signed up if you wanted to speak. You couldn't just willy nilly start screaming at people because you wanted to. Moderators had the right to have you escorted out of the meeting if you or your statements or behavior were beyondthe pale.

I had friends who attended a Lynn Woolsey Town Hall meeting shortly after Obama capitulated on this issue. They were very scared of the tone of the meeting, and wondered if violence would erupt. And they were fairly sure that some of the people whose behavior was the nastiest were not local to that part of California.

[patrick t. cakes]

3. Spengler was right

[Odin2005]

9. The German historian or the Asia Times commentator?

[patrick t. cakes]

10. historian

although i think its obvious were maxed out as a culture
this shooting crystallizes it. IMO

[Odin2005]

11. Caesarism has come to America.

Palin is like Sulla.

[earth mom]

6. The problem is that there are only a handful fighting for our side in Washington DC.

And even those people are pressured into voting for things they don't agree with like Kucinich when he voted for the health care bill.

Now, more than ever....We need to be the change we want to see.

[Odin2005]

8. Corporatists hate civil society, so they attack it as "Socialism" and "Communism".