Charles Krauthammer, possibly the greatest conservative thinker of his generation, said something so profound that it sticks like a burr under my mental horse blanket.  I will paraphrase a bit.  He said that the difference between conservatives and liberals was that conservatives thought liberals were simply misinformed in their viewpoints, but liberals viewed conservatives as mean spirited and evil.  Ponder that thought for a moment. When you view an opponent as EVIL, then any action you take against them is in your mind morally justified. This concept is how a large majority of otherwise moral people in 1930s Germany could be persuaded by the Nazis that exterminating millions of Jews, Gypsies and others was legally and morally justified.

This is how an ever growing group of far left liberal “Progressives” can justify tacitly supporting a group of people who call themselves “Antifa”, which is an abbreviation of “anti-fascist”.  These cowardly thugs, who cover their faces with ski-masks and bandanas,  are portrayed by many on the left as just exercising their First Amendment right of free speech.  If that is so, why do they have to hide their identity while doing so?  Why do they commit violent acts in the process, and why are government officials in some cities allowing them to do so?

We are all aware that their are limits to what you can justify under the concept of free speech.  The classic example of that would be shouting FIRE in a crowded theater or nightclub.  The deaths and injuries caused by that action, as patrons become involved in a panic stricken attempt to escape an imagined danger, are rightly viewed as manslaughter.  Why then are actions like setting cars or trashcans on fire, smashing plate glass windows, destroying other public or private property or physically assaulting individuals not punished as the illegal acts that they obviously are?  Answer?  Because they intimidate or otherwise prevent others from expressing opposing viewpoints.  These are the actions of the Nazi Brownshirts or the Ku Klux Klan of our recent history, elements of which survive today, and they are very dangerous to our society.

The ultra-left, which has taken over the Democratic Party, is perfectly willing to look the other way as law after law is disregarded by individuals and that action sanctioned by politicians.  While people like New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are off running for President, officers on the New York Police Department are being physically assaulted by lawless members of their community as they attempt to perform their legally mandated duties.  Right now, only water is being thrown at them.  How soon will it be before that becomes bleach, acid or even flammable liquids?  Violence begets greater violence.  Allowing lawbreakers to escape punishment for their deeds just invites more of the same, and on a larger scale. Witness what is happening on our southern border.

It is almost inevitable that a person who has a legal right to carry a concealed weapon for self defense does just that if they justly feel that their physical safety, even their life itself is being threatened by a screaming crowd of black-clad masked individuals, armed with clubs and other potentially dangerous weapons.  When that happens, who will the authorities arrest?  I think we all know the answer to that question.