It seems that the predictions I read back in the nineties might be coming true. I read then that sociologists were predicting domestic terrorism. It’s what we see now in public places where people congregate when there’s someone who starts shooting. What trends did sociologists see then that caused them to predict domestic terrorism?

Was their prediction based on the U.S. having a shrinking economy in terms of the opportunities available to most Americans? Was it based on high inflation being experienced by most consumers for cars, houses, medical insurance, and education? Was it based on fewer good paying jobs with an ever smaller middle class or on falling real wages? Was it based on the use of psychoactive drugs in young and old people as a strategy to control depression or mood? What about our society changed to cause this phenomenon of domestic terrorism?

I remember that I didn’t believe that the prediction would come true back then, because I believed that our society was more stable than that. And it was. I remember that I didn’t believe in a growth of “tribalism,” which was the reason given back then for a growth of domestic terrorism. Even when you swap out “tribalism” for “identity politics” that to me, just isn’t enough to cause someone to go on a shooting spree.

Another thing that made me wonder about our society was the closure of “Toys R Us.” I seldom had a need for their products because I’ve never had a child. Occasionally I would go to “Toys R Us” to buy a shower gift or a birthday gift for a friend’s or relative’s child. I remember the isles were full of stuff but mostly empty of shoppers. So much fun has disappeared from American life that the vanishing of “Toys R Us” felt like a metaphor for all the fun that I noticed has been missing in most people’s lives. An investor has decided to reopen a few “Toys R Us” stores and to shrink their size.  But still, their market has clearly gotten smaller than it once was.

Today, people are making hard choices because they have fewer economic resources. Fewer vacations. Fewer nights of going out to a restaurant. Fewer new anything. Probably fewer long lasting relationships and definitely fewer weddings and fewer children. And when we go to shopping centers or the movies, it seems there’s a lot of reruns. Without invention, there’s less fun.

Engineers test metals or other materials for the force required to break them. Something about our society is exerting enough force to break our people. How much stress is needed to break a human heart or to cause a person to go crazy? Maybe it’s our politics or our economy.

As neoliberalism has advanced, there’s been less choice. And markets have shrunk. Job markets are smaller so fewer people can plug into the economy by using their training and talents. We see a less stable society. The solution can’t be more consumerism. What do we need instead of a new car or new kitchen granite countertops or a European vacation or a Master’s degree or Doctorate?

At this point I can say that we don’t need more government interference with the now broken economy. The government’s interference in economic matters and its ambition to rule over global politics and markets has been too large a goal to realize. Our politicians should give up on those outlandish ambitions. They have littered our America with broken lives. We also don’t need more gun control. We do need fewer monopolies and less political cronyism. It’s good that Obamacare has failed and it’s failure shows us that our politicians should stop trying to control people’s medical choices. We had economic stability before deregulation and we can regain economic stability. We should change our course politically and economically. We don’t need to pretend that everything is ok when clearly it isn’t.

If you want to get a refresher on U.S. history from the perspective of how our political ideologies have changed and if you want to understand how politics and economics combine affect our opportunities buy a copy of Political Catsup with Economy Fries at Amazon.com.