The idea of Civil war in America is M.A.D.
(M.A.D.) Mutually Assured Destruction is a theory that nuclear weapons are so destructive to both sides that no government wants to use them. I like to think the concept of civil war in America is the same. No good can come of it, yet talking about a civil war seems to be everywhere. The fact that anyone today is discussing civil war in the United States is insane, because to have an actual civil war will mean the end of the United States. No sane American who has ever seen combat would wish this on the people of the United States.
But it’s possible that the U.S. is already in a civil war; a COLD civil war. In my decades on this planet, I have never seen our country so divided. The inmates are running the asylum, in large part because we elected lunatics to represent us.
The cold war we all know about was a period of tension between the U.S. and the Soviet bloc which began after WWII and ended with the collapse of the USSR. It was an ideological and geopolitical struggle between the two superpowers that never erupted into actual combat; not unlike the present ideological struggle between Trump and his followers, and everyone else in the country.
Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind surveyed 863 US residents randomly in late April and found that 29 percent of those polled believe a revolution isn’t just imminent but imperative. According to the study, 29 percent of Americans agree that “an armed revolution might be necessary in order to protect our liberties” during the next few years. Forty-seven percent said they disagreed with the statement entirely, with one-fifth of the sample saying they weren’t sure how to answer. PublicMind found that 44 percent of Republicans polled in the survey agree that an armed revolt is the answer. By comparison, 27 percent Independents agreed with the statement, as did only 18 percent of Democrats polled. Fortunately, while we in the United States may be ideologically separated from one another, there are no territorial or political boundaries between us such as there was in the Civil War of 1861.
Just as the Soviet Union and the U.S. had their hawks who advocated for open conflict, we can only hope that our internal cold war will mirror that of its namesake and the avoidance of actual armed conflict. The concept of Mutually Assured Destruction worked before and I believe it will work again.
I expect to see instances of sporadic violence, but I don’t think it will be far-ranging in any sense.
We’ve seen the pictures of far-right fanatics dressed up in their wannabe soldier outfits carrying their AR15s, replete with shamaughs, ballistic helmets, drop leg holsters and vests. As an ultra-conservative friend of mine said: “I hope the Left starts trouble; we’re the ones with all the guns.” I believe this sentiment is widely shared on the far right. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard right-wing proponents relating some variant of the “I’m ready for BLM and Antifa” tirade with me. I just nod and keep my mouth shut; better to let them vent. Because I’m white and own guns, they think my non-arguing is agreement. I’ve learned to avoid the topic at all costs.
While I have seen news reports of crazed left wingers rioting in cities in the Pacific Northwest, I never saw Antifa or BLM rioters carrying assault weapons or storming government buildings, claiming the election was rigged when Hillary lost, causing elected representatives to flee for their lives, but maybe I missed the coverage.
What the far right doesn’t seem to realize is that the left is arming itself at a rate never before seen in this country. Gun ownership has traditionally been associated only with the Right, but people on the Left who are afraid, or never owned guns before, are buying them in record numbers. They are scared of the fanatical right wingers and want to protect themselves. There has been an explosive growth of Black American gun groups and others in the past five years. Minorities of all stripes are purchasing guns to protect themselves from acts of aggression by people who don’t approve of their politics or race. They are not willing to stand by and watch as fanatics on the political right proudly display their weaponry and the implied (and direct) threat contained therein. If forced to, they will fight back.
With the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, I expect to see more fanatical “patriots” armed to the teeth when we have any kind of political protests in the future. I think the Rittenhouse verdict will change forever the way political protests occur in our country. Whereas in the past people carried signs, chanted slogans and threw rocks or bottles, I believe we’re going to see opposing sides dressed in military battle gear threatening each other with force of arms, and sooner or later, one of these protests will break out in gunfire. I also think these instances will be short-lived and uncoordinated.
These so-called patriots like to fantasize about the “glory and honor” of combat, but the first time their friend’s head explodes into red mist, they’ll run for home. Americans may like it when we flex our military might and send soldiers to other parts of the world, but actual combat between Americans on U.S. soil is thankfully not something we will accept as a nation.
Our differences are not so delineated that one side will be able to recognize anyone on the other side. There are no uniforms that will enable anyone to pick out friend from foe. How do you tell a Conservative from a Liberal, or a Trump Republican from a traditional Republican? It won’t be urban dweller against rural, city against city or State against State, because we are a politically integrated society. While there are areas that are primarily liberal or conservative, Democrats and Republicans are interspersed among each other everywhere in this country. All of us have friends, family and neighbors who don’t share our political views. Luckily, we may have political differences, but we have no geopolitical subdivisions that will allow people to readily identify their opponents. There is no “North” and “South” anymore. As much as anything else, this should serve to prevent anything but isolated violence.
For the time being, let us all pray that this Cold Civil War in our country is no different than other times of strident political differences we’ve seen since we became a nation. The politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz stoking the fires of violence and hatred will hopefully see their fifteen minutes of fame give way to more intelligent, saner individuals. In the words of President Andrew Shepherd in the movie THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT: “We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them .”
Let’s hope this Cold Civil War in America will be one fought at the ballot box, in the Courts, and State and Federal legislatures. One in which good and decent Americans fight back against this new wave of white supremacy, hatred, fear and division unleashed five years ago by Mr. Trump. The reality is that his political influence is not permanent. Cracks are already forming; several politicians he’s endorsed have lost their respective political races. Americans get bored easily. They have short memories, and he will become yesterday’s news sooner or later. While his legacy of division and racism will not die completely, his fading relevance will hopefully signal the beginning of the end of those monstrous ideas for which he actually stood. A return to some semblance of normalcy and decency in American politics would be most welcome.
As Martin Luther King once said: “Be true to what you said on paper.” America was founded on the idea that “all men are created equal.” Each of us should work to achieve Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, vision, reject the hyper-political division that is paralyzing our country and fight for a united America. Our freedom and our very existence as a nation depend on it.
To continue on our current path is just plain MADness.