A Divided America Does Not Mean Civil War

Observer ^ | 7/04/18 | John R. Schindler

[Libloather]

Civil war is in the air this steamy summer—at least according to the opinion polls. Many Americans are unhappy to the point of despondency about our political divisions, which have been mounting for years and have reached a crisis point during the presidency of Donald Trump. I’m not talking about mere partisanship, which is perennial in democracies, rather something more extreme—and potentially sinister.

Last week, a Rasmussen poll revealed that a shocking 31 percent of voters responded that “it’s likely that the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years.” This fear is not just relegated to left-wingers who are gravely unhappy with the current White House. While 37 percent of Democrats feared a new civil war was inbound, so did 32 percent of Republicans, per Rasmussen.

In America, talk of another civil war inevitably brings comparison to the last one, the fratricidal maelstrom that raged from 1861 to 1865. That eminently avoidable conflict, which thanks to political paralysis and stupidity wasn’t avoided, took the lives of roughly a million Americans. Since our country’s population then was about 31 million, that would be equivalent to the deaths of more than 10 million Americans today.

[foreverfree]

bump

[x]

We are united when we have a common external enemy (and when the government doesn't mess things up by overreaching). Barring that, I don't see much opportunity for harmonious unity. Somebody is always going to be bitterly discontented.

The reason why that seems strange to us is because we have dim memories of when the country was united against the Soviets or against Germany and Japan (and dimmer memories of when government didn't have much power, so there wasn't much to fight over).

That doesn't mean we'll be taking up arms against each other, though. At least not as long as the economy still functions. Most of the country wants a quiet life and doesn't care for ideological warfare.

[gogeo]

What a twit...

[gogeo]

Unfortunately, we don’t.

[frank ballenger]

Good post.

If I can be permitted a little levity in this serious matter, this reminds me of a cartoon in the Detroit Free Press a few years ago by Guindon.
About 100 armed hunters were walking through the woods and two guys were talking.
“There’s about a million of us hunters in Michigan. All of us well armed. The heck with the deer—let’s take Wisconsin!”

[Little Ray]

Try Lebanon.

If we have another Civil War, it will be like Lebanon.
It will be Urban vs. Suburban and Rural. The enemy won’t be in another state, but just down the road.

And it won’t happen in a vacuum. Imagine what the Chinese are going to be up to while we’re tearing ourselves apart.