I thought we were done with senseless violence and murder this week, but I guess I was wrong.

I had just climbed out of the pool. I wanted to get the cardio workout done and out of the way on what promised to be a spectacular edition of gem of a day in July. I wanted to venture down to the farm, pay a call on the new baby who is visiting the Russians, kick back a little before the fun and games of the week commence in the morning.

Maybe watch a little golf. I returned a call I missed while swimming, lazy and languid. You know, a Sunday morning with nothing urgent except the idea of what is eventually going to constitute dinner, and where the table was likely to be set.

Some of that may happen any way, but the news from Baton Rouge killed that, and a long dark shadow fell across the otherwise brilliant sun flooding the azure waters of the pool.

The first reports are of a black-clad shooter near Airline Highway shooting seven police officers, apparently killing three of them. First reports are always chaotic, and normally contain something that is wrong. But I am going to leap to conclusions just like everyone else is.

There have been large-scale protests in town since the police shooting of Alton Sterling.

I am not going to wade into the controversy over his death. Anyone’s death, even that of a troubled man with an extensive record of interaction with the police, should be viewed very seriously. As a white male, I brushed up on my procedures to avoid conflict in the event of a traffic stop. Hands on wheel, fingers outstretched, follow guidance from the officer politely.

Seems like common sense, but that apparently was the first casualty in all this madness.

There is a group of young males who have killed hundreds on four continents in violent attacks on innocent civilians, most recently including a dozen children celebrating freedom in Nice, France. We know who the perpetrator was. There is no mistake about motive. There is no mistake about the method, either. Use of a heavy vehicle to create this kind of carnage has been widely promoted by the movement on the Internet.

In parallel, just this week alone there have been eight law enforcement officers shot here in America where anti-police demonstrations were conducted, often with the seeming encouragement of the national justice department.

Our leaders do not acknowledge that we appear to be in the middle of a shooting war, and it is long past time to take it seriously. It is said that war is a very expensive proposition. The only thing more expensive is losing one.

I believe that Western Civilization is worth fighting for. It would be a nice gesture if our leaders considered the proposition in the same way.

I suppose that would require a general consensus on the value of that Western Civilization thing. I am not sure we have one, and that may be the most disturbing part of the whole deal.

I feel like everything is starting to come unraveled. I used to think it was starting to feel a little like 1968 did, filled with apprehension and dread. I didn’t like it last time, but no one born after 1960 has much of a clue about just how bad it could be.

That is just part of the problem. The other one is that we can’t even mention what the problem is. That is a poignant example of a civilization that is falling apart.

Copyright 2016 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com