When Alexander the Great invaded Phrygia, in 334 BC, he is said to have encountered the legendary Gordian Knot.  It was a tightly knit tangle of rope, so convoluted that none could untie it.  The legend has it that whoever could untie the knot would be the rightful ruler, because that man would possess great wisdom.  Alexander could have conquered Phrygia by armed might, but he chose instead to attempt to untie the knot.  He quickly, however, discerned that he could not do so, and whether in a fit of rage, or perhaps by thoughtful plan, he drew his sword and cut through the knot so that it fell apart in many pieces.  The elders of Phrygia, perhaps shocked and fearful, declared Alexander the ruler, because the legend had it that the wise ruler would take the direct approach.

Today, American society does not have a ceremonial puzzle to be solved, but we do have a number of seemingly intractable social problems.  Unlawful immigration, rampant crime, riots on college campuses, and many others are the subject of numerous proposals regarding possible solutions.  Clearly, American society is in decline and will continue to deteriorate until the crises are repaired — or until the nation is, in effect, destroyed beyond recovery.

Campus riots present a microcosm of many of these problems.  Pampered, entitled young adults have been indoctrinated all their lives with socialist propaganda until they now believe it so thoroughly that they are beyond persuasion.  Not only are they immune to facts, but they refuse even to hear them.  They shout down anyone who attempts to present those facts.  “Facts are racist,” they declare.

The manner of handling those campus riots has also presented a microcosm.  Some university authorities have enabled the lawbreakers.  When they themselves found their jobs threatened, then they began tinkering around the edges of a solution, issuing warnings (that they would suspend students), establishing deadlines, and making excuses.  When all of that predictably failed, they finally resorted to “allowing” police to enforce the rules.  That resulted in more violence.  Weeks later, the problems persist.  Eventually, we assume, it will all be resolved, but much damage has already been done — damage that could have been avoided.

How?  Instead of attempting to untie the Gordian Knot, some governors simply cut through it before the problems could metastasize.  In South Dakota and Florida, students and faculty were pre-emptively placed on notice that, while they could legally protest, they would not be permitted to destroy property, nor to physically attack those who did not agree with them.  Specifically, you can denounce Israel, but you cannot beat up Jews or place them in reasonable fear for their safety, nor falsely imprison them, nor deny them the same exact rights that everyone else has under the law.  Violators will be arrested and, if convicted, suffer meaningful penalties, potentially including imprisonment.

At my own alma mater, the University of South Florida, a comparatively minor confrontation was quickly ended when campus police arrested four students for inflicting violence against them.  It never got beyond that.  The students whined about it, but a potential conflagration was immediately extinguished by cutting the knot.

One would have to be blind, then, or perverse, to fail to understand the remedy to the other crises besetting us, such as the rampant wave of illegal immigration, property crime and violence, and the many other threats to public safety and to our culture. 

The remedy is straightforward.  Cut the knot.

Image: woodleywonderworks via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.