The Decline and Fall of the Empire

[Speck Tater]

Once it lost its great external enemy, the global Communist movement, the US began its inevitable decline by turning its anger and hatred inward upon its own citizens. Red states vs blue states, fundamentalists vs godless heathen atheists, creationists and global warming deniers vs the scientifically literate. Everywhere we look, new enemies are being manufactured to fulfill the need for some "Great Satan" against which the empire can struggle. The search goes on for more and more "Great Satans", hiding within our own ranks, just waiting to be exposed by the righteous who have a monopoly on the clear vision born of ideological purity.

But what the empire failed to notice was that by creating its much-needed enemies from the very fabric of the empire itself, it began to tear itself apart.

The great empire that is DU is now going through the same process. The "Great Enemy" has been vanquished, and now a whole host of new enemies are being manufactured within the ranks of the former empire itself. DU is tearing itself apart, a victim of its own success as the search goes on for more and more "Great Satans" hiding within our own ranks, just waiting to be exposed by the righteous who have a monopoly on the clear vision born of ideological purity.

The battle lines are being drawn. Choose your sides and join the final battle. Either that, or lay in a good supply of popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show.

[leftofthedial]

1. Get over it.

And shut the fuck up.

[NJCher]

6. you need the sarcasm icon

Cher

[leftofthedial]

8. I'm a walking sarcasm icon.

When the sarcasm is this obvious, I find it insulting to use it.

[Hydra]

2. Empires are overrated

They're big, clumsy, mean and unconcerned with anything smaller than themselves.

As for what's happening on DU, I expected it to happen 2 years ago. The issue was not the LBGTs getting thrown under the bus, it was the people fighting gov't torture and spying.

At some point, we're going to reach an "ENOUGH!" moment. It can't come soon enough, IMO. Our rights are not political counters for our leaders to cash in when they feel like it.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. My kid is a cub scout, so yes I have popcorn!

[Greyhound]

4. All due to the real war we have avoided fighting for generations.

Placated with some gilding and assurances that "the adults are in charge", we have ignored what is happening right before us.

Check out the sig line, they don't even hide it, yet we continue to pretend it doesn't exist.

[stillcool]

5. It's a constant battle...

sometimes it just gets more cranked up. There's a lot of passion flowing around these parts.

[JackRiddler]

7. What a portentous beginning for such a trivial set of thoughts...

and bullshit to boot.

DU is not an empire. It's an Internet debate platform among thousands, which people are free to visit and leave at any time.

Only in the broadest sense is it the home of a single "we."

DU has always been the site of periodic massive disputes, often very ugly ones. (Not that it hasn't evolved, but hardly in the ways you're describing.)

"The Great Enemy," if that's supposed to be the right wing and the Bush agenda, is anything but vanquished.

Anything else?