“Don’t go to bed with no price on your head – No, no, don’t do it.
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – Yeah, don’t do it.”
Baretta’s Theme song ~ Sammy Davis Jr.

In 1975, when this TV show was first aired, America had a much different character.

In November of that year, I was coming home from my third tour of Vietnam. Part of our country was pissed off about our involvement in a conflict we didn’t want to win. The rest was concerned about Watergate, 9% unemployment, Hoffa was missing, the Cold War flourishing, the space race was exclusionary, and the ever-looming nuclear holocaust terrified everyone.

Yes, I know the Vietnam conflict ended on April 30th, 1975, but some brothers and sisters stayed to ensure most of those leaving made a “graceful exit” and that all was well in the American War for democracy.

I was in a research and development group pioneering RPVs – Remotely Piloted Vehicles – called drones. We did photo reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures, and weapons delivery.

That’s the declassified part.

The Vietnam conflict was over, and a few Americans cheered. Still, there were no accolades, especially for the 58,220 military personnel who wouldn’t return alive, the 1,244 who remain unaccounted for, and the 407 unrecoverable. Those of us who did come home were the target of humiliation and violent attacks by peaceful protesters. Even our government didn’t want us – we were surplus – of no further use.

It’s fascinating that the volunteers are heroes when there’s a war, but when hostilities cease, they are persona non grata. The wounded are piteous, ghastly reminders of the horrors they endured for our government – to protect democracy.

America was a different country in 1975. As the Vietnam conflict ended, America awakened to the lies that propelled us into this and subsequent senseless struggles in the name of democracy.

Notwithstanding, that’s why we were there; we were preserving democracy.

That was the lie.

That was the lie the Military-Industrial Congressional Complex sold the country to justify the conflict. You can read all about why we became mired in this conflict online, but if you do, read the entire story, all of the opinions and impressions, not just the Cliff Notes – paraphrased and sanitized versions.

Part of America began to realize that Eisenhower was right, but it was too late. The assimilation was complete – the MICC controlled the administration, increasing their mastery as the years passed.

The cost – in 1975 was $168 Billion – today, that’s $1 Trillion.

I intended this preface to set the stage for the rest of this article about the denigrated America we endure.

* No conscience.

* No remorse.

* No responsibility.

* No consequence.

* Where “The end justifies the means…”

I borrowed my title from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s 1866 story. “Crime and Punishment follows the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in Saint Petersburg who plans to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker, an old woman who stores money and valuable objects in her flat. He theorizes that with money, he could liberate himself from poverty.”

A Summary – Crime and Punishment
Fast forward to 2023; we have plenty of crime but no punishment. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. There is plenty of retribution if you’re in the wrong cult.

As for moral dilemmas or mental anguish, you’ll need to contact the casualties of America’s new advanced multi-tiered Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE) approach to socio-political engineering.

The acolytes of this preposterous disinformation campaign see themselves in Raskolnikov’s situation. They’re the indigent victims of systemic racism forced to live in a country that would keep them as slaves. In their eyes, there is no equity or equality, only tribal exclusion. They personify the victim mentality they’ve been programmed to accept and embrace.

So, like Raskolnikov, their only salvation is to vilify their purported masters and create equity for themselves.

DIE – justifies the means!

The premise for this rationalization began with the story of Robin Hood, adapted by William Langland in 1377 England, from a balladeers tale of that period. The theme was “Take from the rich and give to the poor.” It is an excellent story, albeit morally corrupt. It’s entertaining and vindicating to see justice in the hands of the oppressed, but like the fabled vigilantes of America’s Wild West, it ignores the legal and ethical aspects civilization relies upon. But vigilantism often produces the wrong result. I suggest you read “The Oxbow Incident” for a salient example of my point.

Americans love the vengeance movie genre. It gives the oppressed hope in Truth, Justice, and the American way… Remember Superman? We’re so enthralled by these Holly Wood adaptations and stories that we actually believe the fantasy. It’s become part of our program – like a software virus. It sneaks in and becomes part of us.

Fast forward several centuries, and we land in the home of monetized fantasy, duplicity, and tiered justice, where everything is bought and sold, especially power.

America didn’t invent power bartering, but we certainly exploit its nuances and have made some inconceivable enhancements. It’s now an American art form, as is the deception used to disguise and justify it.

We’ve softened the language, too. It’s not a lie; it’s disinformation, misinformation, and, my favorite, an inconvenient truth. This softening created some unfortunate byproducts. It causes us to think kindly about the liar because the words are not as harsh, so the transgressions weren’t really all that bad. Were they?

Five hundred fifty people shill for this country, Congress, the opposite of progress, has 535 members plus 15 in the Executive Branch. Together they posture and pose as our leadership, yet everyone knows the mega-rich elite pull these marionette’s strings through campaign contributions. Money is power.

But as John Dalberg-Acton warns, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

I’m most appalled by the lack of consequences in America. It’s a total lack of accountability caused by a lack of repercussions. When there is no perceived penalty for a transgression, the crimes increase into anarchy. If you believe what you see from corporate media, there are no community misdeeds, and as their calculations attest, crime is under control, as is everything the government does. I want to ask the woman attacked by the Chicago teen mob on April 15th of this year how she views these statistics. I imagine she has a much different assessment.

What we have here is the perfect rationale for equity. Our alleged systemically racist system denies the disenfranchised the opportunities that others have, according to Chicago’s new left-leaning mayor. And… creating an equitable society will solve all of our problems. It’s the socialist’s manifesto and the basis for the D I E socio-political engineering project.

This unethical, irresponsible delusion applies to any statistic the American bureaucracy generates. Figures lie, and liars figure. Unfortunately, it’s not the statistics rather the disinformation and misinformation they represent. Without accountability or responsibility, deceit inhabits and thrives in this new reality. And… that’s apparent at every level of this regime.

I can’t blame this administration for its dishonesty; it has been a hallmark of governments since the beginning of time, but the DemoSoc reign takes it to a new level. Some hidden anxiety must keep governments lying to their subjects and themselves. They cavalierly ignore that perpetual lies have long-range negative impacts; once you lose someone’s trust, you never regain it.

When your spouse lies to you, will you ever again trust them? Even if you forgive the transgressions, the specter of the lie remains, diminishing your level of trust. If the lies continue, your trust decreases rapidly, eventually reaching zero.

How much do you trust this regime?

What we see and what we hear could be true or blatant lies. The Media Industrial Congressional Complex promotes the misinformative campaign the Military Industrial Congressional Complex invents to extenuate their corruption.

Did you notice that the abbreviations are identical?

The question is, why do we accept this behavior? Why do we allow it?

We’re stuck in the bleachers watching their scheme unfold, and the mayhem proceed. We are powerless as individuals, and those we elect to represent us, sit on their hands for fear of losing popularity and its implicit power. We’re spectators and unwitting accomplices.

If we attempt to protect ourselves, they use their insinuated system to persecute and prosecute us.

The system designed to protect us is perverted to serve our elected misrepresentatives and their nefarious purposes.

In the absence of administrative accountability and individual responsibility, we have anarchy. The Media Industrial Congressional Complex regales us with endless violent programming deemed entertainment, so what do we expect the inhabitants to emulate – peace or disorder?

We’re addicted to mayhem and violence!

* 91% of the movies in the past 30 years have been violent.

* 85% of all video games are violent.

* 57% of TV programs are violent, and in these programs, the perpetrators of these crimes go unpunished 73% of the time, and about 25% of violent acts involve handguns.

What are we teaching our population?

What messages are we sending?

Do our government and media’s actions support anything but violence and treachery?

Defunding the police to support Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, D I E, and anarchy is precisely what happens in the community that adopts this deranged practice.

* We watch mobs burn and pillage our towns with impunity.

* We watch this regime support these gangsters by tacitly promoting their cause.

* We see thugs attack helpless people, and nothing is done.

Corporations close stores in crime-riddled neighborhoods, creating retail deserts because supporting rampant theft is financially impractical, and residents stop shopping for fear of attack.

NONE of the gangsters are punished. AND… if they are arrested, they’re quickly released to continue their reign of terror.

“We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Please point to the places in this country where our government upholds its responsibility to this opening phrase; the preamble to our Constitution.

This document is the bedrock of this republic.

This regime violates every precept of this covenant.

Where is the punishment for these crimes?

This contradictory standard is the example they propagandize – do as I say, not as I do!

Lead by example…?

I see this shameless disregard for the law as the intentional destruction of this country.

I can’t comprehend why anyone would want to destroy America, but here we are, watching our country circle the bowl…

I consider America’s most essential support structure – the nuclear family. No, they don’t glow; it refers to a household consisting of a father, a mother, and their children all in one dwelling.

The Welfare State…
The most detrimental policy ever invented is paying fatherless households to raise children. It’s called Aid to Families with Dependent Children AFDC. This one insipid program did more to enslave and ensure dependence on government handouts. It created an entirely new subordinate Welfare Class. The entire welfare program cost Americans $1.494 Trillion in 2023, and the proposal for 2024 raises the ante by another 19%.

The term “welfare state” refers to a type of governing in which the national government plays a vital role in protecting and promoting its citizens’ economic and social well-being.

A welfare state is based on the principles of equity of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions of a good life.

Welfare is fundamental and functional socialism since it must first take it from someone to provide it to someone else.

Take from the rich to give to the poor.

Is our government Robin Hood?

So what does this teach America’s citizens?

* You don’t need to work hard.

* You don’t need to be responsible.

* You get paid to have more kids if you don’t have a father at home.

* There is no reward for hard work, and there is no penalty for being lazy.

* You can break the law without fear of retribution.

The America that was… is no more.

I’m unsure about this destruction being deliberate or incidental, although I lean to the intentional side of this argument. My cynical nature tells me that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. A premeditated act of this level would require punishment of an unimaginable nature. Ruining a country for personal gain is unconscionable.

But you see, that’s the overwhelming allure of power.

The failure is allowing it to flourish ruthlessly.

May 8, 2023

~ The Author ~
Charles R. Dickens was born in 1951, is a veteran of the Vietnam war, for which he volunteered, and the great-great grandson of the noted author, whose name he shares.

He is a fiercely proud American, who still believes this is the greatest country on the planet, with which we’ve lost control and certainly our direction. He grew up in moderate financial surrounding; we’re not rich by any stretch, but didn’t go hungry – his incredibly hard working father saw to that. As most from that era, he learned about life from his father, whose story would take too long to tell, other than to say that, he is also a fiercely proud American; a WWII and Korean war, veteran Marine.

Charlie was educated in the parochial system which, demanded that you actually learn something, and have capability to retain it before you advance. He attended several universities in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, and chased the goose further to a master’s, and has retained some very definite ideas about education in this country.

In addition, Charlie is a retired blues guitar and vocalist – a musician. This was his therapy career. Nothing brings him as much joy as playing music, and he wishes that he could make a living at it… but alas… life goes on!