Could it be Cowardice

How in the world can we have found ourselves being held hostage by a small group of extremists who will destroy whatever they can to get what they want? In a time where our country is struggling to get back on its economic feet, how could Congressional leaders fail to face down a small number of greedy tax extremists that resulted in some hundreds of thousands being put out of work. Could it be cowardice?

We live in a democratic republic where the majority enacts laws that all citizens are required to follow. Unless of course a few people are greedy enough to decide that the rest of America is wrong. They can exaggerate a small concept into a broad doctrine to cite as justification for destructive behavior that makes innocent people suffer.

Extremists have been doing this for centuries. A small number of people greedy for power coerce followers into acts of varying destructive force not to promote the doctrine but to line their own pockets. Sometimes the acts are as heinous as humanity can conceive as with the Nazis in the 1930's. Sometimes the acts are designed to protect property as the Southern plantation owners in 1860. Sometimes the acts are to gain political dominance as in Ireland in the 1920's.

Neville Chamberland's greatest gift to history was to show us that appeasement of extremists doesn't work. There are laws for interaction in human society and all of us are required to follow all of them.

Our political system offers avenues for the minority to have a continuing voice in policy-making. Our technology has offered extremists a theater to propagandize to greater numbers of people than ever before. They can create a firestorm of half-truths and needle-point doctrine to offer networks on airwaves and internet enough headlines and controversy to broadcast their views far in excess of their worth. Broadcasts have won out over legislation.

The power in this country rests in the majority of voters who entrust their interests to leaders whose job it is to dutifully uphold the laws of this land. Yet they don't and we all suffer for it.

They get away with it because we let them. Could it be cowardice?