Archive Home Page I really don't think you have anything to fear. My own opinion is that
things are much much farther along than most people realize. So so much of
this stuff has been raised to the level of symbolism or is standing in place
as sort of an emotional marker of the course of history (an explanation of
anachronistic communities and the persistance of ancient beliefs). Your
alarm is not taking into account the overall trends. Just look at what
happened to the Berlin Wall and painfully slow but sure progress in the
Middle East.
Nor are all these "militia type" people inherently evil or even uncognisant
of larger issues. Some day I'll tell you about the my recent synchronistic
experience with Head Cheese, Botulism, and Kansas City's favorite homophobe
:)
I not only spent a lot of time in the back alleys of the Gay community, but
also a lot of time in the backwoods of Christianity where scripture and guns
come together to create the survivalist movement (basically grounded in the
fear of the prophesies of the Apocalypse and variations of it like
Nostradamous). A Christian survivalist in the middle of nowhere Oregon
basically gave me my introduction to these issues. His fear was flamed by a
ministry in Colorado and he gave me a set of preachers tapes that sounded
suspiciously like they had subliminal messages. In hindsight I realize that
that whole experience was a set piece. My VW bus was precariously balanced
on the edge of a ditch and his was the only house around so I got to meet him
and his family. His beliefs were crazy (as so many of our religious beliefs
are when not seen from a larger context), but he wasn't evil.
There is nothing to fear but fear itself.