SCHAEFFER: Chief Canary Of The Coal Mine

Radical movements never end at the original demands.

Let’s harken back to a simpler, more innocent and yet paradoxically more emotionally resilient time, shall we?  Particularly the Fall of, say, 1988.  Imagine a fine autumn day on the great plains of Illinois. The sun blares down through the azure dome of the wide Midwestern sky to warm the faces of  75,000 fans crowded into the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium. (Yes, back then we filled the place.) A sea of orange and blue shimmers in the stands and the roar “I-L-L!  echoes from one side of the stadium, followed by the obligatory response of “I-N-I!” from the other.   Colorful pennants orbit the arena, swirling and snapping in the warm breeze.