The first night of post-America's long, hot summer of 2016

I share Leon Wolf's observation that there was a real 1968 vibe to what we saw in Chicago. He even went so far as to say maybe even a 1780s France vibe, and I'm not inclined to dispute him.

The terrifying things about these forces is that we never fully understand them when we are astride them, and we can never predict with certainty where they will end up. Many people have correctly observed that society and politics are realigning themselves in fundamental ways – anyone who purports to be able to tell you with certainty where that realignment will lead is selling you something, to paraphrase the Dread Pirate Roberts.

We can identify the two basic forces involved in last night's particular situation: the Trumpbots, that all-caps, policy-and-consistent-principle-be-damned, adulation-for-a-caudillo swarm fueled by a vague rage that, in a sane world, would be directed at its actual cause (Leftist tyranny) on the one hand, and the kind of jackboots that get university presidents fired and scream for diversity programs and Israel divestment and "green" energy on the other.

What occurs to me is that there is one kind of post-American who would not be seen at such a flashpoint: actual conservatives.

But we may be reaching a point at which stating our case in blogs, on podcasts and broadcasts, and in calm face-to-face discourse, proceeding under the assumption that we can do so without violation of our persons. is not going to ensure our safety. That has become a consideration with a new degree of urgency.