Civil War 2018? part 1
The election of Donald Trump has split the country in two. If you voted for Trump and are brave enough to admit it in public you know what kind of reactions you have gotten. They can be positive if you are lucky, but most are mean, nasty, and insulting. Often, it's just surprising that your fellow Americans would regard half the country in such vile terms.
Look what happened to Sarah Sanders recently. She was asked to leave The Red Hen in Lexington, VA along with 7 members of her family. Protesters they followed her family to another restaurant and continued their harassment. So much for that famous southern hospitality. Increasingly, the progressives have taken the approach that half of their countrymen and women are evil hordes that must be stopped.
Most Americans enjoy getting together with friends and family over the holidays. Most of us have happy memories of Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas mornings or 4th of July cookouts. Family gatherings like this have always been fun and provided a reason for busy people to spend a few hours together. Brothers, sisters, parents and children, neighbors and friends all gather to enjoy each others company. That was the old days.
Today we have NEW rules. The new rule is that ONE wrong word can blow it all up in an instant. It's like walking through a verbal minefield. One comment about the NFL, the American flag, immigration policy, international trade or even the weather can spark an argument in an instant. Politics has so infused our culture that that literally nothing is safe from controversy. The safest bet is to simply limit your conversations to those you agree with. If you take the risk and step out of that safety zone things can get deeply personal and devolve into a shouting match in the blink of an eye.
We are getting to the point where the two sides simply hate one another. Unfortunately, the progressives are the ones fanning the flames at the moment. A mentally deranged guest on Morning Joe recently compared Trump voters to Nazi's. When you start comparing people to a group that murdered millions of innocents not only do you have no shame, but you are heading down a very dangerous path. Neither Trump nor his voters are in the same galaxy as Nazi's. Oddly for all their PC language policing they have no issue using some of the worst slurs available.
If you voted for Donald Trump and think we should protect our borders you are labeled a racist and xenophobe. If you are concerned about our massive trade imbalances you are labeled an ignorant moron who doesn't understand the finer points of international trade and you may well be a nationalist . If you mention being skeptical of global warming you are a denier and possibly part of the flat earth society. If you love America, the flag and our National Anthem you are a white nationalist who simply ignores our dark and checkered past.
Are we on the verge of a new civil war? It sounds totally insane, but if you see how wide the gulf is between the two sides it's not as hard to imagine as you might think. At this point even simple dialogue between the two sides is impossible. What conversation is impossible violence is the next step. It's one of the reasons diplomats prefer to keep engaging even if the progress is limited. Jaw, Jaw is better than war, war. You have to be able to talk to your adversaries. If you can't all bets are off.