“Don’t take your guns to town, son.”

It has always been true;
the political arena is a savage, brutal place.

It was true when the arena was the Roman Senate.
It was true when the arena was in the courts of kings.
It is now true in the halls of Parliament and congress.

It remained true when the arena spread to newspapers,
then radio,.. and then TV. And it is still true now,
with the political arena including the posts and chatrooms of social media.

The arena has always had spies and con-artists,
liars and paid agitators, working alone or in grand coordinated efforts
to control the opinions and perceptions of the people in the political arena.

The appearance of being offended, both real and manufactured,
to gain leverage in the political arena is as old as anger itself.

“Don’t take your guns to town, son;
leave your guns at home, Bill.
Don’t take your guns to town.”

Johnny Cash, “Don’t Take Your Guns to Town”