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Syria, USA
“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” (Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon)
And now African-Americans with guns have created a presence in the suburban Atlanta neighborhood where Aumaud Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in broad daylight by a retired cop and his son. And armed African-Americans needed to escort Democratic lawmakers to the Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, after armed predominantly-white protesters against the state’s stay-home pandemic response policy had occupied the gallery of the chamber while the Republican majority voted to sue the governor.
Meanwhile, countries that are ahead of the United States in testing, tracking and dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic are reportedly considering banning American travelers from entering their borders.
The United States of America is divided, not along geographical lines this time, but rather by abilities to distinguish fantasy from reality; to distinguish rigorous journalistic discipline from cynical propaganda. Somewhere a Syrian refugee might even smile, if their life hasn’t already been ruined to the point of inability to feel any kind of satisfaction.
What is Robert Heinlein, and the gun-hugging teabaggers that exploit his quote, talking about? There are plenty of heavily armed societies in…