HJL,
In an introduction to gangs he blames gangs primarily on “lawyers, politicians, and judges who defend and promote these groups as well as the culture and media, which have helped them recruit and excused their behavior as “cultural differences”. However, the real blame should be placed squarely on the unconstitutional war on drugs. Without the war on drugs, and the black market profits it creates, these gangs would quickly wither away to almost nothing, just like the the ones based on alcohol were withering away after prohibition of alcohol was ended till we foolishly replaced one source of profit with another. – M.A.
HJL Responds: Actually, you are both right. The root cause of most of society’s ills is the same root cause that has destroyed hundreds of advanced civilizations throughout history. The destruction of the bonds that hold our society together, from the family, to the extended family (or clan) to the city or villiage (or tribe) and finally even at the national level. Once these bonds are effectively sabotaged, the civilization begins to unravel. Crime increases, hostility and resentment explode towards authority, authority becomes overbearing, and corruption abounds. The end result is usually either anarchy or dictatorship. Occasionally you get both. The bonds are destroyed by corrupt judges, lawyers and politicians, media that promotes those lifestyles as “adventerous” and “romantic”, and also by bad laws at every level of government.