Three days of shock and awe illustrate an American culture in turmoil

A quarter century ago, as a young bureaucrat, I had a disagreement with my bosses. Energy commodities markets were going through an historic price spike, and my agency set the final rates customers would pay. I wanted rates to mirror the market to send "price signals" to consumers and provoke a reduction in consumption. The bosses wanted to spread costs over a long period to mitigate "rate shock." They feared the infinitely possible responses that could come from an angry public. The bosses won, as bosses usually do, and we kept rates flat, and the public remained calm. Governing has changed since then. Last Thursday, June 12th, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was forcibly removed from a news conference being conducted by the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. He was ultimately tackled and handcuffed before being released. Why? He wanted to ask Noem some questions, and there were no questions to ask her that she would have been able to easily answer, so her security detail overreacted early. Where? In Los Angeles, where Padilla is arguably far more important than Noem. This wasn't a mistake on Noem's part or on her security detail's part. It was purposeful theater. While Padilla was being restrained unnecessarily, Noem was saying this according to NBC News: "We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country," referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats. The Trump Administration is declaring war on state and local government in California. Or was Noem just trying to see what the reaction to that possibility would be? On Friday, June 13th, Israel began firing missiles into Iran. As reported by Reuters, "The air war between Iran and Israel - which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes - has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on Gaza in October 2023." Israel claims the bombing was necessary to preempt Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Yes, this issue had been addressed during the Obama Administration when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed, specifically to prevent it. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement during his first term and failed to craft a new nuclear deal with Iran to replace it. Now we have a replacement: war. The U.S. has been working to avoid this conflict since the Reagan Administration.   Connect with Michael Leppert Visit michaelleppert.com to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter @michaelleppert  Facebook at Michael Leppert Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization.