As Americans we live very comfortably as a whole. But America is comprised of a lot more than the sum of her parts. Largely, that’s due to the multiculturalism that exists here and the vast resources at our disposal and a fairly free society and market-based financial system.

Where you fall along the lines that run through those factors produces lenses that you view the world through, and are able to imagine how others do. Our ability to do that varies wildly as does the empathy that goes into the effort, if it’s ever even attempted.

Some people are more rational and some are more emotional, some people have broader horizons than others, and every single person has their own individual set of circumstances. But as far as grouping us all together, it’s done pretty easily overall, whether that grouping be via race, sex, education, or any number of socio-economic or natural differences and classes. And we do separate ourselves, consciously or not, willingly or not, proudly or not.

Over the past few decades I’ve witnessed a phenomenon — an evolution — which, of course also has to take into account my own personal biases and situations, including age, educational level, mental states and geographic locations among others, but an an obvious situation that we have on our hands.

If you live in San Fran, or Oakland, this won’t be news to you. Or if you’ve grown up in the South over the past few decades and are politically intellectually aware and awake. Detroit, DC, Atlanta(proper), New Orleans, Chicago, Birmingham, and a list of other US cities have experienced shifts over time that have been less than, shall we say, on the upswing.

When I have to draw a common thread between them all, I notice a few things.

Corruption? Check. Bankruptcy and overall financial insolvency? Yep. The same names on the ballots year after year? Of course.

But what I see growing more and more with every passing year is a cultural phenomenon that is leading to some pretty rough and unsavory times. It involves political correctness, entitlement, guilt, opportunism, ignorance, human nature, short-sightedness, and a LOT of other factors that appear (and disappear) when you have millions of people living in a dynamic society. But it becomes clearer to me when I open the paper or sit down to read and absorb a few hours of global news each day: we’re reaping what we began sowing in the 1970's, and will be reaping for decades as we’ve experimented, for lack of a better word, with the structure and ingredients that first went into the place we know as the US.

Reclaim, or at least deserve in their minds, whether earned or not or anyone would be aware of it or not, respect. The “chin-up” pride is based on a pretty dysfunctional group of people overall, if we’re going to be realistic. Simultaneously, a hatred, or at least distrust, of authority figures permeates the culture. Note the “Fuck The Police” message written on the side of a USPS mailbox above. Would you feel the need for protection going into a neighborhood of citizens with this collective sentiment as an officer of the law is necessary for your safety? Maybe not, but maybe. I’ve seen videos and real-life examples of what mobs of (angry)people are capable of.