Anarchy

         Anarchy - the state of disorder due to the absence or nonrecognition of authority.  Now that is something that we might expect and have even seen in some third-world countries.  But anarchy in the United States?  Never.  But wait a minute, maybe we are closer to that happening than we could ever have expected.

          The recent sad events in Ferguson should make one wonder how far we are from anarchy becoming a reality.  What  started as a story of a cop defending himself from someone who attempted to grab his gun and then fatally wounding the teen in the process has turned into a national race issue with violence and destruction.  Because the cop was white and the teen black, the community erupted and shootings, confrontations, looting, and destruction of property resulted.  Those protesting with violence couldn't wait for the facts.  In their mind the police force was wrong and the teen was killed because he was black, not because he had committed a crime.

When some calm was finally restored, the case was taken to a grand jury which had the right to collect all the evidence and even force witnesses to testify.  The grand jury purposely was constructed with the same balance of races as the community so that a fair and correct decision could be made.  But it was quickly obvious that the community and much of the country would only accept a verdict which held the cop as guilty.  Law enforcement was forced to prepare for more violence if that decision was not reached.

         After much study and deliberation, the grand jury announced a verdict that said the cop was not guilty and was just defending himself.  As expected, the liberal media fanned the flames around the country.  For example, CNN reported, "No indictment for Darren Wilcox, the white police officer, who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen."  Why even bring race into it?  Then government officials, including the president, commented, questioning the verdict and suggesting that additional investigations needed to be made. Had they seen the evidence the Grand Jury collected to make their decision?  Certainly not.  But why believe the grand jury which had studied the facts, including information the media and public had not seen?

          And what happened then?  Unfortunately, as expected, more riots, violence and burning of buildings. The lesson? You don't get what you want?   Then protest and destroy property.  Don't accept the facts.  Retaliate.

          But what is even worse, the protests spread around the country flamed by the media and community leaders and pastors.  One pastor here in Lancaster, a thousand miles away, quickly and publicly condemned the verdict, calling it racial.  He had no idea what facts the Grand Jury had studied, but he was sure they were wrong.  To him it was a racial issue, not a matter of law and order. And his comments were followed here by a band of protesters marching down the city streets disrupting traffic.  Similar protests, sit-ins, and acts of civil disobedience have now been seen throughout the country.

           It is a very dangerous step when leaders and pastors encourage their followers not to accept and obey the rule of law and accept the facts.  That is the beginning of creating a lawless society where the mob rules and violence and destruction of property follows.  And that is anarchy which can lead to the death of a great nation.  Can it happen in the United States?  Unfortunately, I believe It already has begun!