You’ve been thinking about Gangs. Surely you’re a member of at least one. You’ve heard of the famous ones. The Huns had a good run for the better part of a century. Who can forget the Mongols, tribes that massacred their way into one massive dynasty, eventually holding sway over 100 million souls? All manner of kings and nobility, with their stable of henchmen, kept the vermin-ridden rabble in line. They still do, by the way. In the 1400’s, Spain’s Tomas de Torquemada was a fan of various forms of torture including foot roasting, garrucha (also known as strappado) and suffocation. Ivan The Terrible earned his reputation the good old fashioned way. Tamerlane (Timur) massacred huge populations without mercy, and built city structures using the skulls of his victims. You might say he at least was a resourceful thug. Throughout recorded history, Gangs were in charge at the point of an arrow, blade, gun or switchblade; and the rank and file accepted their subjugation as the natural order of things. Then in one shining moment, along came a group of men who changed the course of that ignominious history forever by audaciously advancing a decidedly absurd proposition: individual human life is sacred. All at once, a civilized society resolved that the basic individual rights of life, liberty and property transcended the capricious whim of a ruling axis. As noble as that proposition was, it was even more practical, unleashing a tsunami of individual achievement that turned the world on its ear. Innovation flourished. Civilization soared. But now you must confess something: that American miracle – The Gift that swept the world — has lost its luster. Inconceivably, we Americans, despite our alleged devotion to self-reliance, have allowed The Gift to rust and fall into disrepair. Wait, you assert, the decline isn’t your doing. No way. Your resolve is to be independent; you claim to march to your own drum; you swear that you believe in the sanctity of individual liberty and individual accountability. Sorry, but the evidence proves that you routinely hunger for refuge under the aegis of The Gang. It’s in your genes. You want to follow leaders, however corrupt; to have the approval of your peers and reap the benefits of membership. Look at your behavior. You zealously solicit membership in churches, country clubs, trade unions, civic clubs, chambers of commerce, Sierra Club, NRA, PACS, AARP, NAACP, NOW, ACORN – organizations euphemistically called special interest groups — all with agendas to accomplish one purpose – to collect your money. And because you’re totally sympathetic to The Gang, you also support and sustain two of the most powerful – the Democrat and Republican Parties – each modeled after the Gangs of yesteryear, as well as those of today that inhabit penal institutions and city streets, like the Mafia, Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerillas and hundreds of others.  You think the comparison is bogus. Sure you do. But the facts prove otherwise. The Boss of each party tells the soldiers how to vote. The Boss has Lieutenants who run the committees. The Lieutenants dole out responsibilities. Informers inform. Enforcers enforce. With few exceptions, the soldiers follow their leaders or risk political exile. With even rarer exception, one rule guides every soldier – put your job security before anything else. Like opposing teams on the field of play, the parties have an absolute adversarial relationship that includes the key tactics of warfare. Bitterly divided, the rivals agree to lay down their “weapons” and unite behind only one common purpose – to vote themselves financial security and all manner of perks at the expense of their impotent employers.  As you contemplate the treachery of Gang rule, you also can’t help indulging a fantasy.  Political parties suddenly become obsolete. 535 lawmakers are unaffiliated. Each has a term limit. Each is beholden only to the electorate. Each casts every vote based on personal conviction, not party pressure. The Founders risked their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor” to advance the righteous cause of individual liberty. You must ask: What does this generation of lawmakers risk?  Well, let’s see. Life is good, all the way in first class. Fortunes are secure, all the way to the bank. And honor, for goodness sake, is relative, isn’t it? Like honesty, integrity and morality. No, the risk today is far more foreboding – excommunication, Gang-style. Poor babies.