Could Americans’ Discontent Turn Violent?

At what point does discontent turn to violence?

At some point, protests against mortgage bailouts turn into bricks tossed through the windows of bailed out homes, or baseball bats taken to car dealerships, or Molotov cocktails thrown at bank branches and government offices. When Americans lose hope, instead of taking handouts, they bite those whose hands are out, especially if those hands are holding guns. Worse is that Americans seem less inclined than ever to channel their rising anger into a current political alternative. The last two elections were a denunciation of what the Republican Party had become: a party to Washington’s leaderless excess. But if Barack Obama’s Democrats are similarly denounced by the electorate, I wouldn’t automatically conclude that the pendulum will swing back to the GOP. Instead, I would expect many Americans to look outside the existing political system for real change.

The question is whether our citizens have the kind of spunk that the revolutionaries had when the colonies were being subjected to the tyrannical rule of King George III. It's hard to say if and when Americans will lose hope. Many expect Obama to provide it since he campaigned on "hope and change" but mounting job losses and rising prices are leading indicators of a forlorn populace.