For awhile, I thought the country was going down the tubes. It is easy to think that if you watch any amount of what is called news these days, but is actually just fear-mongering and pandering to whatever "HUGE DANGER!!!" is currently being peddled by the Lame Stream Media. "Oh my God! It got warm outside today! Quick! Give me all your money, so we can SAVE you!"

But, I now believe that we are waking up.

The other evening, I was out with a friend. We were standing outside having a beer, (because I smoke) on the patio next to the fire. It wasn't a big fire. In fact it was too small to give off anything close to enough heat. There was a young guy standing there too, and we fell into conversation, about the world. He was obviously sure that his vote for Obama was going to fix everything, and was happy to share his 25 year old deep political and social wisdom.

Now this guy was cold too, and his solution was to keep stirring the tiny ineffectual fire and spreading sparks all over us. My friend, after about three or four minutes of this, said to him, "If one of those sparks gets in my eye, I'm going to punch you in the mouth."

I was a little taken aback. To smooth the situation, I ventured to the guy, "You know, all the stirring in the world isn't going to warm that up. It needs more wood." And gestured to the enormous woodpile stacked near the fence. He looked over at it, then just looked back at the fire and his stirring stick slack-jawed and unhappy, that we had interrupted his rude, yet ineffectual behavior.

So I went over and got a few logs and threw them on. A couple minutes later, a waitress came out and marched right over to us and began to berate this poor schmuck, for putting wood on the fire. When he didn't speak up for himself, I said to her, "I put it on there. The point of a fire is to create heat."

She looked at me. Then turned back to him and berated him some more. When he just stood there and took it, she then grabbed the log that wasn't yet alight, and took it back to the woodpile. Then returned for another, saw they were now on fire,and decided that was enough to make her point. She disappeared back inside, without ever having even glanced back at my friend and I.

I asked him why he let her talk to him that way, without saying anything. And he had no answer. I was inclined to let it go though, as the other two logs were catching nicely and beginning to throw off some heat.

We continued to have polite conversation about life and politics. But, it quickly got boring. Instead of defending his points or responding to ours, the young guy just repeated mindless talking points or diverted from the questions. He could neither respond to logical argument, nor put forth any of his own for his positions. But, as he did that, he began to regain his confidence a bit. With each pronouncement that the President is closing Gitmo, and has ended the war, he became more sure of himself and regained his apparently more common smirk of superiority.

We were just about finished with our beers about then, and he started stirring up the sparks again. I looked at my buddy and said, "Let's get out of here." He nodded and I went inside to take a leak. A minute or so later, he joined me then we walked out to the car and left.

On the way home, he said to me that he had probably gone too far. I asked what he meant. And he told me that as he was leaving the fire, the young guy had waited until he was downwind of it, deliberately stirred it again to raise a big cloud of sparks on him, and said with a big grin "Stumble safely now!"

So my friend had turned around and walked back to him, and punched him in the jaw. Didn't knock him out or anything....just a firm challenge punch, with no real damage, he said. And as the guy did nothing to defend himself, left it at that and went to pee.

I allowed that he probably did go too far. But, that as we had been there for five minutes after that, and no fuss had been raised, we were probably not going to get arrested or anything. OTOH, I had paid with my debit card. So, if they wanted to find out who we are, it wouldn't be a problem either.

I have been thinking about that incident for a week or so now. And I have been wrestling a little with my own feelings. I have always been loathe to fight, and have only done so myself when directly attacked first. Had I been the one provoked at the end, I believe I would have simply turned around and gotten in his face, and waited for him to throw the first actual punch, which he would not have, and it would have been over.

OTOH, all that would have taught young guy, was that he could count on other men to have restraint, in the face of obvious and snarky provocation. He would not suffer any consequences for his actions. It would simply reinforce his crappy behavior.

At any rate, I've changed my mind. I've decided that my friend's actions were a better response than mine, for both young guy, and for society in general. Now, he knows that his behaviors do have at least potential consequences. And I think he may be a little more polite in the future. He may even avoid a real butt-whipping  by someone who unlike my friend, might not show any restraint at all, and just fully express his anger by beating the snot out of him.

Violence is inherent in our species. And unfortunately, when that capacity is trained out of the best of us, that leaves only the worst to wreak havoc. Cowards and weaklings do this by imposing ever more group solutions, that nibble away at the freedoms of individuals, trusting that they personally will suffer no consequences, because the cops will protect them from those they provoke. And bullies give in to their emotional and hormone driven impulses, with no thought of consequences.

Where are the good men, who are neither? Men who neither use aggression to push others around, nor allow it to be done to them, or other weaker innocents? I maintain that like my friend, we are starting to wake back up.

In attempting to train out the wolf-like instincts of men, we seem to have, as a society, also reduced the pool of sheep-dogs. But I see, in this situation, a glimmer of hope. My friend fought back. He didn't turn the other cheek, or slink away. Maybe he didn't do it perfectly. But, maybe he did. Maybe we are returning to a society where good people will not just roll over and take it anymore. And perhaps, "fighting words" will come back as a relative standard. Respect for others has to be rooted in something. Real consequences strike me as far better in that regard, than simply the smug assurance that someone "else" will punish whoever dares to take offense at whatever insult one cares to hurl.

On this Memorial Day weekend, I am thankful not only for all the brave sheep-dogs who have given their lives to protect our nation. But, I am even more grateful to those who are protecting us, by coming back from serious war and confrontation, both hardened to real battle, and at the same time, disciplined to exercise restraint. These men and women are our future business leaders. They actually know, having been in real life and death situations, that making decisions has consequences. And they know that making them, is both necessary and unavoidable. They won't simply wait for things to collapse, as characterized by the last year or so here.

Those who don't understand that "no decision" is also a decision...but one that leaves the lowest common denominator as the standard behavior, will not understand this. These people, when forced to make a decision...one that they absolutely can't get out of...will make them out of fear, rather than considering what is best in the long run. They will make them out of self-interest, rather than principle. They are the Barney Franks and the Nancy Pelosis of the world.

If you want to see our sheep-dogs waking up, I suggest you attend the next TEA Party in your area. You may be amazed at the sight of so many different kinds of people coming together to stand up for the principles our nation was founded upon. You might also pay attention to the Memorial Day Rolling Thunder event. Real men are coming back into style. And the wussies are very afraid.