On the topic of homegrown terrorism: It is a natural consequence of government growth to produce homegrown terrorism. One of the dynamics in all forms of governing is to slowly increase the size and scope of power. To paraphrase, ‘power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ Power grows; the growth of power is absolutely assured.
I’d add ‘government power grows’ to ‘death and taxes’ as things we can be sure of. It’s a law of nature for those in power to continually seek more ways to involve government in more areas. I assume it has something to do with the perception if you have power and don’t use it, it’s letting the power go to waste.
There is no political system I know of with a built-in mechanism for reducing the growth of government’s power. No governmental structures automatically review laws at some later date to examine the effectiveness or necessity. Laws are sometimes repealed and often updated, but few are reviewed directly, leaving many odd and outdated laws on the books.
The rule of power growth applies to all forms of government–it’s not an issue with just Communism, Socialism, Democracies, or Republics. It’s not a matter under which form government exists; it’s an issue of the dynamics of power itself. Eventually all governments grow and grow, the longer their existence, the greater the number laws.
With each new law comes the potential for more citizens to become criminals. As the laws grow, so grows the group of disenfranchised citizens who see themselves not as being protected by laws, but rather the victims of too many laws. The more power governments have, the greater the resentment when their power is exercised.
Once you see the government as deliberately excluding you and your way of life, you start to see yourself as a second class citizen. When the power of government grows to the point where people believe they have nothing left to lose, they often lash out towards their government.
People who have lost their property or children or right to vote often feel they have nothing to lose. There are several areas for potential homegrown terrorists in the US, due to the growth of governments power.
- Budget shortfalls are causing most governments to seek new sources of revenue. Taxes and fines and license fees will see increases, so too will IRS audits.
- Parental rights. Parents have had their parental rights taken away from them for a wide range of reasons. How they named their kids, too much religion and no religion, polygamy, weight, and even bath time photos.
- Drug laws which allow government to seize personal property, imprison, and deny the right to vote.
I am ignorant as to just how others are impacted by the continual growth of laws, because every law and right has a unique impact on the individual. Freedom of speech is more important for those that have much to say than to those who keep opinions to themselves. Laws can’t have an equal impact on everyone, because we don’t all live our lives the same way.
While I can’t say which groups will be added to the list, I can say there are many more groups of the disenfranchised that will be added as governmental power grows.
