We’ve got a problem

No civil society can survive without a dedication to a system of laws that is fairly and consistently applied to all members.

No one does that perfectly, but healthy individuals and cultures try. Asheville’s dominating power-brokers have made a contrarian decision to exchange the rule of law for the rule of dogma.

It’s not going to end well – for you, for me, for our community, and, just as surely, for our city’s governing body and their enablers.

Here’s why.

Cults versus constructive causes

The dictionary defines a cult as, “A restricted group devoted to a person, idea, or movement that seeks to assert a particular view or position.”

Cults are dangerous because fairness, creativity and maturity are almost always bowled over by dogma. Constructive causes don’t exist without the first three.

Per their singular dedication to anarchism, Antifa and BLM easily meet the cult cut. Asheville’s hyper-liberal 7-0 City Council and those who secured that lock also qualify.

Show me a cult and I’ll show you a group that actively works to eliminate contrasting points of view. Autocracies are dangerous for the same reason gas without a container is dangerous.

Unleashing the bad guys

With all due respect to the liberal pundits and elected officials insisting Asheville’s recent demonstrations were “peaceful,” are these guys familiar with the term “confirmation bias?” They should be, because they’re using it to license mob behavior.  

It’s not peaceful to break windows, vandalize buildings with graffiti, storm the lobbies of private businesses with profanity and threats, crowd explode mortar pyrotechnics, throw hard objects at police, or threaten those with whom you don’t agree with bodily harm.

Peaceful is as peaceful does.

Enablers aren’t public servants

Think back a few years. Remember the organized group of “peaceful” protestors who committed the first Vance Monument vandalism? Though a smart guy with a courage button and a drone got clear facial pictures of the 30 or so perpetrators breaking a host of state and local laws, enforcement paralysis prevailed. APD’s intimidated administrators and Buncombe’s politicized D.A. gave them a pass. That failure to apply the rule of law to the vandalism of public property set the stage for the chaos we’re reaping today.

As for our local daily and TV station, do we need detail on evident liberal advocacy that relentlessly protects failing local leadership? Look up “normalcy bias” for further understanding on the why.  

Then there’s the council itself. Whether it’s converting a historical monument into an iconic phallic symbol, painting single-issue BLM murals in city parks, or allowing mobs to maraud and impair highways without fear of consequence, this body is as indifferent to reason and what the law says as they are to the fact a whole lot of us don’t share their reckless model.

Asheville’s council endorses 56 different gender options, but remains persistently clueless on the diversity of our community’s broader values.

 Where does it land

They don’t know it, but they’re doomed.

They’ve unleashed the unquenchable thirst of a several organized groups of camouflaged nihilists who will never be pleased. When they try to put these cats back in the bag, the claws will come out.

Increasingly morose city leaders are beginning to note their anticipated revenue stream is on a collision course with an extravagant budget, debt service and a collapsing local economy. There will be lots of dancing to hide a long trail of misjudgments.

As troubles accelerate, a sense of humor will be an important skill set. Here’s a practice opportunity. Think of how glad you are that you weren’t one of those who voted to transform an attractive central city landmark into a rendition of a giant sex toy – and then with blushing enthusiasm – defined it as progress ....

 One last thing

Today’s illiberal liberals have a power strategy they count on to shut-down the opposition – F.E.A.R.S.

Lately tried to talk to someone on the left? If you had a diverse opinion, it’s an easy bet it didn’t go well. Rerun the tape and you’ll find a reliable pattern – the use of Fury, Evasion, Accusation, Ridicule or Seduction, as a pack or one at a time, to assert their view.