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A couple of weeks ago, the newspaper I work for published a very sad letter to the editor. The writer was mourning the death of his oldest friend, his loss made the more painful because they had become estranged. Over politics.
We’re seeing more and more of this. Friendships and families fractured, celebrations tainted, days darkened by political obsessions. What we know intuitively is backed up by data. On September 30, The University of Virginia Center for Politics published polling and data analytics that point to a stark conclusion: A whole lot of Americans want a divorce from one another.
The most startling finding in the UV study is that “roughly 4 in 10 (41 percent) of Biden and half (52 percent) of Trump voters at least somewhat agree that it’s time to split the country, favoring blue/red states seceding from the union.” Americans increasingly see political differences as irreconcilable, reflected in the 75 percent of Biden voters and 78 percent of Trump voters who see those who ardently support the opposing party as a “clear and present danger to the American way of life.” (43 percent of Biden voters and 47 percent of Trump voters believe this “strongly.”)
That’s the language of civil war.
Of course, a lot of it is just talk. But civil wars don’t start with one big explosion; there’s a long powder train laid down by hostile rhetoric and the demonizing of the political and cultural “other.” The great British narrative historian Dan Jones notes that history is always a conversation between the present and the past, and it seems to me that 21st century America has a lot to talk about with 17th century England. If we do slide into some kind of civil war, it’s liable to look a lot more like the chaotic English Civil Wars of 1642–1651 than our own North/South sectional conflict of the 1860s.
In the English conflict, political tension — largely over taxation — between Parliamentarians and an autocratic King Charles II was overlaid with profound religious contention between Puritans and High Church Anglicans. Conspiracy theories abounded, primarily around Puritan fears of a secret plot for a Catholic takeover of Protestant England. Political adversaries became enemies, and enemies, heretics. There could be no compromise. Agitators worked hard to make it impossible to reconcile. Swords were drawn, cannon unlimbered, and the realm was plunged into an abyss of war, plague and social dislocation. Families and communities were ripped asunder by conflicting allegiances.
And, as so often happens in revolutionary situations, the Puritans who cut off the head of the high-handed and foolish King Charles II in 1649 replaced his rule with a harsher, more dictatorial regime than he ever dreamed of.
If you think such terrors are a relic of a distant, less enlightened past, they’re not. Change the stage dressings to make them contemporary, and they are us. UV finds that “more than two-thirds support — and one-third strongly — emboldening and empowering strong leaders and taking the law into their own hands when it comes to dealing with people or groups they view as dangerous.” Do we really want a Cromwell — a “Lord Protector”? Talk about an existential threat to the American way of life.
This is on us. All of us.The greatest peril we face comes from darkness we carry within: Self-righteous certainty that we hold the truth and those who dissent are either stupid or malevolent. The lure of conspiracy theory that “explains” all things that cause us fear and anxiety. The impulse to empower a self-appointed Witchfinder General to sniff out heresy. The petty satisfaction that comes with seeing some sinner clapped in the stocks in the town square…
Knowing that we each and all are susceptible to such dark impulses, we can choose a different path. We can unplug from the social media and cable TV that both feeds and feeds on those dark impulses. We can reach out to that old friend or family member from whom we’ve become estranged — not to convince them of anything, not to prove them wrong, but simply to tell them that they matter to us, that our differences ultimately don’t matter so much. We can talk to each other — about anything but plague and politics. Talk about that magical hike or that wonderful musical experience. Share that spectacular meal or that fantastic piece of art at that gallery in town…
It will doubtless take time and some arduous effort to bridge divides — but it’s a whole lot better than dying estranged from those we love.
Matthew says
I don’t understand why some people get so obsessed with politics. I’m not saying it is not important, but it is never that important.
I doubt a civil war between the right and the left would be anything but disastrous.
Well said, sir.
Chris says
I unplugged from social media and most forms of news many months ago, and regained a large portion of my humanity in the process. I highly recommend it. If you want to occupy space in this high-performance, uniquely-created, carefully-maintained central processing unit called “my brain” then you better f‑ing earn it! No time for the noisy clamour of fools writing on bathroom walls.
Joseph says
As an expat American living abroad for many years, the acrimonious divisions in American seem insurmountable. Looking in from the outside, every visit we make the changes seem more dramatic. It is a bit like when someone tells you that your children have really grown and you are surprised, as you don’t see the subtle changes day by day. Believe me, America is a far different country than the one I grew up in and fought for in a war.
tom says
perhaps one of the missing ingredients in this divided america is duty to country, for all citizens. let’s consider a draft. but not just for military purpose, this could include a rebirth of the ccc, civilian conservation corp, or peace corp, whatever efforts could benefit the country or some of its less fortunate. service could be from age 18 to 20. all americans must serve including those with bone spurs with very few excuses of no service to country!
Bill Valenti says
By coincidence (or perhaps not) I just posted on FB a term I found in an article about this very topic: “epistemic hubris” — the expression of unwarranted certitude. This is a plague on both the left and the right, and I find it very easy to fall down that rabbit hole from time to time. Music, as you point out, has been a very effective way to cross the divide.
Thom Eley says
Alaska has had a secessionist party for 50 years at least (Alaska Independent Party). For a bit the party has just lulled along, but today its membership is increasing. Even a big part of Anchorage wants to secede from the rest of the city. Of course, the City of Anchorage has to give the secessionists the money to do it. An interesting book called the Nine Nations of North America supports the idea of re-stating (redefine the states) into to something that makes more sense. They suggest splitting off Southern California at about Santa Barbara and sticking it with Southern Arizona and New Mexico and West Texas (Rio Grande area). Northern California, parts of Oregon and Washington and Southeast Alaska (~State of Jefferson) would become Ecotopia. A great book on succession is Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach–he spoke at my Berkeley graduation. In the book, the State of Jefferson (Ecotopia) succeeds from the US and locks the boundaries. You ain’t coming here. It is an interesting read.
Pfleging Jim says
Here, here!!
Padre says
Good word! As a pastor, I’ve been seeing the effects of this divide reverberating throughout the church. Many clergy are reporting that it’s harder and harder to keep their congregations from being bogged down by conflicts over politics and the pandemic. Those who publicly embrace either of the sides face losing folks from the other, and those who try to maintain as neutral a demeanor as possible will lose the true believers from the fringes of either side who see silence on a topic as tantamount to capitulation to the other side.
And more and more of us in the church are growing convinced that we will be the target of the Left’s next crusade. The blogger Rod Dreher’s latest book is about how the church survived under totalitarian regimes in eastern Europe, with lessons being drown for the church in the West in the next 20+ years. Dreher’s not a right-wing fringe character or uninfluential, so the fact that he’s writing on this topic and people are discussing it is telling.
Gregory+Walker says
Well said, sir.
I have found myself drawn back to this song and its message — “…and know they love you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyU0P6iqyw4