Ron, I think we are seeing civil unrest everytime the Minutemen go to the border, or show up at a rally in an effort to influence people. And each time they have a new rally, more people show up. So yes, I think it's happening and it's not hyperbole.

         Re: the rise and fall of empires: when it happened to Rome, China, and Greece, the people involved must have thought--at least to the extent that their life times would let them--that the whole world was changing, either up or down. The difference is, this time it really is the whole world.