Any excuse for a riot!

I remember a number of years ago when students at the University of Maryland celebrated a basketball championship by rioting in College Park. The New Year's festivities in French cities these days include torching cars. Despite 45,000 extra cops on the beat, hundreds went up in flames. Happy New Year!

During the 60s, rioting was almost a sport. The 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago was the occasion for so many and the police used so much tear gas, it was reported that Hubert Humphrey at the Hilton Hotel was disturbed in his shower.

Barbarians don't have much imagination. Angry about (fill in the blank)? Have a riot! Burn your own neighborhoods, in fact! Happy about your team's championship or celebrating the new year? Have a riot! Burn up your neighbor's car!

These are the barbarians within our gates.

Now my question is: How many of these barbarians attended a local or national tea party?

My guess: nada, zip, zero, zilch.

A conservative principle is to preserve the good. Conservative hope is in God and laws based on the fundamental rights of man made in God's image. The barbarians, on the other hand, believe in no rule but their own. If it feels good do it. If you can get away with it, try it. And blame, blame, blame - especially anyone in authority: your parents, the cops, etc.

What will the barbarians bring us in 2010? Probably more of the same. They have no imagination and even less character. You'll find them flaunting obscenity laws at gay pride parades, looting shops during natural disasters, vandalizing the property of others just for the fun of it, moaning and groaning at the Vagina Monologues, etc. You'll find many on college campuses where they fill their heads, not with knowledge and critical thinking skills, but with contempt for values like patriotism, courage, honesty, and service.

How do you fight a barbarian? I'm not sure. The old barbarians could be swayed by the goodness of a saint or pope. The neo-barbarians hold relion in contempt and are so cynical and nihilistic that they are almost unreachable. But two weapons are sure-fire: the Eucharist and the rosary. St. John Bosco had a dream that evil would be defeated through those means. Pray for the barbarians and raise your children to be gentlemen and gentle women who love God and serve their neighbors. And make 2010 a year of prayer. We need it!