Clausewitz noted that war is politics carried on by other means. I hold that the reverse is also true.
You probably already know this being a teacher, but others don't. Policy Sci 101. The definition of politics is who gets what, when, and how. In other words. Politics is about power.
It's frankly time that conservatives and libertarians understand not just the what part, but the how part. It's not civil, except when civility is used as a tool.