We've come undone

Looking at news headlines last week, I was overtaken by a combination of shock, disappointment, sadness and fear. Yes, fear – for my family, my community and, most importantly, for my country.

I remembered a song that seemed terribly appropriate. Just substitute "we" for "she":

She's come undone,
She didn't know what she was headed for,
And when I found what she was headed for,
It was too late.

I hope it's not too late, but I've seen it all before, thought it was over but now realize it's back with a vengeance – headlines filled with hate.

I saw news of a busload of cheering black schoolchildren beating a lone, white child and the police saying it wasn't racism.

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Which is worse: that it happened or that we're at a time when minorities can't be racist?

Headlines showed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi emoting about memories of San Francisco violence in which Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot and killed by Supervisor Dan White.

Milk was openly gay and Pelosi inferred that gay hate was why he was shot. Not so, but she made her point and said such hate leads to violence and fears we're headed that way again.

This same woman has no compunction labeling citizens as "Nazis" because they disagree with the direction President Barack Obama is leading the country and said so, using constitutionally protected freedom of speech.

She's come undone,
She found a mountain that was far too high,

And when she found out she couldn't fly,
It was too late.

I saw headlines about a former president using hate speech. Jimmy Carter, a southerner and former Georgia governor, hurled the racism epithet at anyone disagreeing with Obama – from average citizens demonstrating against government takeovers of the private sector to white Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.

Wilson disrupted congressional decorum by calling out the president as a liar for his claim illegal aliens won't get health coverage under the health/insurance proposal. (Actually, they will.)

Carter says, people disagree with Barack Obama because they can't accept a black man as president.

He says, without proof, that most of the country is racist.

It's nearly 50 years after the civil rights battles, the marches, the hate, the anger, the violence and finally, the end of it. We had the law and made changes to enable a better life for all Americans.

It was over, wasn't it?

Uh, no. It wasn't and isn't. With "racism" charges flying, we're in dangerous times again.

It's too late,
She's gone too far,
She's lost herself.

"Racist" is a powerful word. People like Carter should know their words echo worldwide, feeding hatred for our country among people who would like nothing better than to destroy us.

I saw headlines about new messages from Osama bin Laden, again threatening global terrorism. It's a new kind of war with a new kind of enemy: people who hate us and want us dead, using any means to accomplish that.

We saw it clearly on Sept. 11. That day brought global terrorism not to our doorstep but right into our house.

Americans express fears that not only did terrorism hit our country but that philosophical enemies have infiltrated our system, working to destroy us from within and who worry more about appeasing the enemy than the danger to citizens.

If you express that, you're labeled racist, Nazi, terrorist – not by street rabble-rousers but by elected politicians and network media.

Karen Bass, speaker of the California Assembly, calls talk-show hosts who express concerns about the direction of our government, "terrorists." Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., says Rep. Joe Wilson is the face of the Klan.

This is dangerous, loose talk by people who make laws affecting the country. It undermines the law they're supposed to uphold.

There are headlines about societal terrorism at home. It's a perversion of society and law, threatening our sense of well-being and safety: gangs, violence, drugs, perversions, failing schools and crime.

I saw headlines about the young woman who'd been kidnapped at age 11 and held prisoner for 18 years during which she bore two children.

She's home, but there's a grim search of the property where she was captive, after cadaver dogs indicated there might be human remains. Police suspect two other unsolved missing child cases might be resolved.

What in society leads people to such horrific depravity? How do parents protect their children?

Headlines show the economy is disastrous with unemployment up and rising. The Afghanistan war continues, our troops picked off like a shooting gallery. The president wants more deployments, yet doesn't envision "victory."

Obama virtually ignores the war but spends TV time giving speeches promoting a revision of our health/insurance system that will change the country forever and, according to him, will lower costs, cover everyone and provide better care.

Americans aren't buying that sales pitch.

But he wants the law now, and it'll be closely followed by amnesty for illegals, cap and trade–climate change, gay marriage, greater homosexual rights, gun restrictions and broadcast controls.

He appoints powerful czars with beliefs anathema to our Constitution yet with power to further regulate our lives. He names a politically correct Supreme Court justice who, were she not a liberal, Hispanic female, would never have been confirmed.

I saw headlines about Obama betraying our eastern European allies by eliminating a promised missile defense system, which also makes our country more vulnerable. Meanwhile, he supports Marxist dictators and leaders who are sworn enemies of freedom.

My country is being shredded by its own government.

My country is being undone. It's a core betrayal.

She's come undone,
She wanted truth but all she got was lies,
Came the time to realize,
And it was too late.

Undone – indeed.