Cal Thomas - The threat from within

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, June 3rd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Here’s commentator Cal Thomas on the anger that Washington ignores to the peril of us all.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: Senate Republicans refused to establish a commission to investigate the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol. It was billed as a “bipartisan” commission. But who really believes that? In Washington, virtually everything is partisan.

How about a commission to examine the source of the anger that produced the attack? The sources aren't conservative talk radio or cable TV. Those are merely conduits for Americans who are fed up with their government and want it to return to the boundaries established by the Founders.

Violence and destruction were not justified on January 6th, or at any other time. But the riot might go a long way toward heading off future incidents if our leaders understood the rioters’ depth of feeling. They believe their country is being taken away from them without their consent.

We are told we must pay more taxes to a government that has misspent our money for years on programs that don't work but help politicians stay in office. We must live within our means, but government is spending us into unsustainable debt.

We must obey all laws or suffer civil or criminal penalties. But we see countless people breaking the law to illegally cross our southern border. We watch as public schools teach critical race theory as part of what some consider historical revisionism and invite drag queens to middle-school Career Day.

The Pentagon demolished the Trump-era ban on transgender people in the military. I have yet to hear how this will promote unit cohesion, help us win wars, or compete with the militaries of Russia and China. Their priorities are much different.

We spend record amounts of money on public education and yet American kids are behind in important subjects, such as math and science.

Notice there are no proposals for a commission to investigate Black Lives Matter, or the large amounts of money flooding into both parties in an effort to influence elections. No, only people viewed as the "extreme right" are subject to investigations.

There are numerous quotes, even books, about nations that have crumbled under the weight of their own self-indulgence. None surpass the statement by our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. He said, quote— “From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic military giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never. All the armies of Europe and Asia … could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we will live forever or die by suicide.”

If we ever do get a commission to investigate what fueled the January 6th riot, that quote would explain our suicidal tendencies. It might also explain the anger many feel.

I’m Cal Thomas.

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