Is the American cold civil war heating up?
I was reading about a Biden campaign bus being harassed by a “Trump train” (Trump supporters showing support via vehicle convoys.) It threatened to blockade the bus and/or drive it off the road. After Trump seemingly supported the attack in a tweet, similar events occurred in New York and New Jersey. I watch news reports of voter suppression, and legal maneuvering to discredit ballots. Scientific posts I’ve made about the pandemic — a crisis now deeply politicized — are met with outright rage (and more than one un-friending) and even a cursory read of the comments below political adds show a common thread; “Vote as if your life depended on it!”
We are living in a war of rhetoric, subterfuge, sabotage and — most importantly — propagandistic stroking of the hatred towards “other.” If you’re old enough to remember the US-USSR cold war, you may be finding all of this uncomfortably familiar. This previous generation’s cold war was a war of seething hatred. America’s internal conflicts today are sadly similar, where left and right stand righteously confident in the other side’s intent to destroy America.
While there has been (as of yet) only a few volleys of live ammunition, America’s cold war is replete with malicious Pravda-esque news sources, rhetorical dog whistles, and deep-seated hatred. During the US-USSR cold war, we (the “good guys”) knew the commies were baby eating monstrosities, determined to enslave us by removing our freedom to be exceptional. While, for Russia, America was a capitalist nightmare of undisciplined greed, corruption, and the enslavement of the working class. All of this churning above the threat of imminent mutual annihilation.
Any of this sounding familiar?
Today, we’re divided between the, “socialist liberals destroying the country because they want everything for free”, and the, “1% enslaving us for personal gain.” Once dismissed as “vocal minorities”, these groups have become the driving force in the 2020 election.
Like the previous cold war, we stew unproductively while awaiting the opportunity to explode. We have groups like The Oath Keepers and the Boogaloo movement, who have been quietly prepping for a new US shooting civil war. While Ronald Regan (despite the tragedy of neoliberalism and policy failures in the Middle East) successfully played his part in ending the US-USSR cold war— Trump seems intent on stoking the flames.
The next few weeks will see a change of temperature to our cold war. I fully expect there will be riots and small skirmishes immediately after the election. But what happens after those? If Trump wins, ironically, I expect little change — a continued fueling of our internal tension, contained by one side’s belief that “they’re winning.”
The risk comes should Trump lose. I honestly don’t fear a refusal to leave office. This is too bold and decisive a position — something Trump finds abhorrent. It doesn’t leave him with enough ambiguous angles to play. Will he declare a successful term as President and “retire” back to the gilded life of a reality TV star? There’s no public hint of this and, if we know one thing about Trump, he’s not famous for holding cards close to his chest. Will he flee the country to avoid personal ramifications from the last four years? This too doesn’t seem to jive with his core belief system — that of the infallibility of Donald Trump.
The last option is the most concerning, since it is the most likely to feed his narcissistic cravings. He’ll continue the bully pulpit, privately. Without the daily burdens of ignoring security briefings, and signing toothless executive orders, he’ll be free to pursue his real passion — adoration rallies, picking fights, and throwing gasoline on the fire.
But we — as a country — have been here before, during the reconstruction from the first Civil War. Two sides, each despised by the other, forced to come together. Can we reconcile once this election is over? I admit to my own personal struggle towards finding common ground with the more radicalized members of the opposition. Much of what they have embraced is simply too unpalatable. I also remember, however, that much of our Constitution is founded in this reconciliation and the compromises it demanded.
The only thing I know for sure, is the future of the US will likely not look like its recent past. It cannot, if it’s going to survive.
