In the movie Over the Edge (1979), a group of teenagers—mostly good kids—are driven to acts of vandalism, as they try to live their lives in a planned community. Sadly, the “plan” behind the community forgot to take into account the town’s youthful residents. The film had limited theatrical distribution, but was widely viewed on cable, and finally achieved a cult status. It didn’t hurt that Matt Dillon made his debut in the pic.
The movie was inspired by true events, involving kids in the planned community of Foster City, CA going on a spree of property destruction. The film ends with some of the kids being taken to juvenile detention. The music over the end credits is the late Valerie Carter’s bravura version of “O-o-h Child.” Given the song’s hopeful lyrics— Things are gonna get easier; Things'll get brighter; We'll get it together and we'll get it undone; We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun—we know that the kids will grow up, leave their miserable town, and turn out okay.
However, we can see, 45 years later, that life imitates art. Only now, the problems go far beyond vandalism, unless you want to broaden that term to include destruction of a national identity, its culture, its economy, its health, and yes, its youth.
The kids in the pic were driven over the edge by feelings of isolation in a community that seemingly cared little for them, and appeared to favor economic development and distance from the supposed woes of the big city.
Turning to the present, “over the edge” has taken on a different meaning. Many good citizens have begun to see their government in a whole new light. So, what pushed them over this edge?
For many, it was the scandalously incompetent and corrupt handling of COVID-19. Absurd lockdown requirements—already known by epidemiologists to be useless and counter-productive based on extensive modeling as well as real-world experience—not to mention the grotesquely flawed “vaccine” and the daily lies from the CDC.
Of course, this treachery could scarcely have been accomplished without the full faith and credit of the sycophantic mainstream media, that STILL has remained silent on the consequences of those public health policies.
For some, it was the outrageous withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the unprecedented leaving behind of tens of billions of dollars in materiel. This forced even the less cynical among us to see that the entire point of foreign military adventures is to simply advance the goals of the military-industrial complex—and we were warned about this by Eisenhower himself in his farewell address. I guess the deaths of 58,000 American servicemen in the Vietnam War—for no reason whatsoever—was not a big enough clue.
For others, it was the endorsement—by many levels of government—of the preposterous on its face transgender agenda, and the promotion of mutilation surgery that Josef Mengele himself would never have dreamed of.
And let’s not forget the rampant inflation forced on us by incandescently stupid policies. An inflation that is killing the spirits of our youth. “What future?” they may ask.
For still others, it was the Banana Republic style persecution of a leading contender for the president, not to mention similar tactics being used during his first term.
Underscoring all of these abuses and more is the plain fact that the Republican officeholders, with almost no exceptions, have engaged in a limp-wristed strategy of talking tough and doing nothing at all. And why wouldn’t they? They have no incentive to do otherwise in a world where incumbents tend to stay—and stay—in office. Do people really think that the empty suits holding political office are any different from the dweebs that ran for student government in high school?
As long as “conservative” voters are convinced that driving off a cliff at 55 miles per hour is better than driving off the same cliff at 80 miles per hour, against a backdrop of permanent incumbency, what can change?
Ah, but that’s exactly what a secular society will do for you. God is replaced by institutions—in this case the government. So, the only answer is to attempt to change and perfect the government. To argue that this is pointless, since all human institutions are ultimately destined to fail based on the fallibility of man, is dismissed as Nihilism.
The lynch mob against Trump is inspired simply by this: A rich guy, who doesn’t need the vile corruption of the system, is an existential threat to it, and its thousands, nay millions, of despicable members. How sad that too many of its most dedicated shock troops are dumb proles (and even dumber members of higher classes) who are set to gain nothing at all.
Maybe the best outlet for your newfound enlightenment is to spend a whole lot more time worrying about those close to you. You will surely have a far more profound influence on your loved ones than you will on changing the government. No saint has ever been canonized that neglected his own family as he tried to save the world.
Indeed, if the government is really supposed to be directed in the interests of “We the People,” perhaps the ultimate strategy is to improve the people, one at a time, starting with our very own families. Beware of getting caught up in the distraction of a personal “foreign adventure.”
Awesome Point of View, Mike.