Frustration and a feeling of helplessness can drive a person to do unconventional, even out-of-character things.

The same can be said for large groups and crowds. A seemingly law-abiding crowd can turn into criminal mob in a heartbeat.

The growing level of frustration many Americans have with the federal government seems to be on a collision course.

From the T.E.A. Party (Taxed Enough Already) movement to the angry protests over health care mandates, America seems more divided than any time in recent history.

Critics may throw out the race card and simply discount opponents of the sweeping changes as being simply racists or extremist kooks.

The logic being that their frustration is somehow tied to the nation’s first black president.

Suggesting such is a huge mistake, however, since Congress, not the president, is ultimately behind any significant changes in federal laws.

The frustration has grown so intense that a group in Oklahoma is mulling the idea of forming a volunteer militia to defend against federal infringements on state sovereignty.

While Constitutionally allowed, it’s pretty scary stuff.

We don’t like the federal mandates on health care, and we’re not fans of what we anticipate to be an ever-growing federal government that appears on track to bury this country in debt.

But raising arms in a show of force against the federal government?

That’s dangerous talk, almost sure to incite the violent radicals on both sides of the argument.

Americans need to seek common ground and seek change through the normal political process.

Not through force.