America is divided. There is no way to get around it. America at this current moment in time, on [DATE}, is the most divided it has been since the Civil War. How can we prove this? At no other time in history have we seen so many violent political movements, from the riots associated with the death of George Floyd in 2020, to the violent riot of January sixth, 2021. Whether or not you agree with the reason for the movements in moot, because that is not the problem at hand. The problem itself is the rise of violence associated with these political movements, and the mob mentality associated with them that is exclusive to opposing thought while acting as an echo chamber for its own. For an example of this, please see Twitter. These violent movements are incredibly detrimental to our democracy, and it will take all of us to settle our differences and agree that public discourse is more beneficial to our country than violence in order to stop these movements. A 2021 survey by the Center for American life found that 68% of Americans across both parties believe that the American way of life is disappearing, and that force must be used to save it1. This is a scary revelation about the state of American political culture. When we have the two major opposing political factions in the United States saying that we need to use violence to achieve our political goals, is that really what will keep our democracy intact? No. The way to keep our democracy intact is with calming our political tensions, and to do that we need to examine what creates this problem, how to fix, and why it will take all of us to cool the room and prevent a civil war.
It is human nature to hold opinions, and because of that debate is human nature as well. As former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said, “I don’t expect anyone to sit there and agree with me, it's not their job”2. However, society tends to fall apart when our debates begin to divide us to the point where we cannot work together. Big changes in the political landscape, like the election of Donald Trump, or the overturning of Roe v. Wade, tend to invite more division into our society because of how polarizing they are. The same is said with cultural battles like the battles over LGBT rights, or the battles over the right to hold optional prayer sessions after football games. You may agree or disagree with these issues, and if you do, great, and if you don’t great. The vast majority of people that are participating in the societal debate over this aren’t contributing to the problem, because the problem doesn’t lie in the debate. The problem itself lies in the people advocating for political violence and using language that inflames the situation. A prime example of this is when a protester during the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case arrived at the house of Conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh with the intention to assassinate him, before changing his mind and turning himself in. He was armed with “burglary tools, a newly bought Glock pistol and 37 rounds of ammunition.”3. Agree or disagree with Justice Kavanaughs position on abortion, is it socially acceptable to attempt to kill someone, much less a Supreme Court Justice, over their viewpoint? Abortion has been a political talking point for years, even before Roe v. Wade, and the discussions there for the most part were mostly peaceful. In fact that can be said about just about every political issue, except until recently. Not only are people more accepting of using violence to achieve their political goals, but civil unrest itself is up. Incidents of civil unrest have doubled in the last decade according to the Institute for Economics and Peace4.
Fixing political division is no small feat however. It requires a complete shift in major cultural and societal ideals and beliefs, and it must start at the top. If you look at most recent acts of political violence, the side that agrees with the ideals of the perpetrators tends to be silent, while the opposition calls out the perpetrators. To go back to the Kavanaugh example, most of the leaders on the Left were silent when it came to the attack, while leaders on the Right made it a big issue until the Dobbs decision. However, the same is true for the Right, as many members of the Right are silent on violent attacks by the alt-right, while the Left calls them out. If we truly want to heal the division in our society, it must start at the top. When Far-Left extremists attack Conservative supporters or riot in the streets, both the Left and Right need to call them out and condemn them for their actions, and the same goes when it's the Far-Right. Trump needs to criticize the January Sixth rioters as much as Biden needs to criticize the rioters during the 2020 George Floyd Protests. Conservatives look to people like Trump and Mitch McConnell to lead them in their political debates just as Liberals look at people like President Biden and Nancy Pelosi to do the same. Political leaders need to exercise responsibility when it comes to who they condemn and commend, after all it is like Uncle Ben said, “with great power comes great responsibility”. But it is not only political leaders that need to change. Our collective society needs to change as well, we all need to be less tolerant of people who use violence to achieve their political goals. Politically speaking, no matter our political beliefs we need to be as equally critical of ANTIFA as we are the Proud Boys. These violent political organizations are only enabled to the things they do because we as a society refuse to discourage them, and in turn punish them for their actions. We all need to see the reality that using violence for your political goals are unacceptable and those who do so need to be stopped.
After all, the United States is a country divided. It is becoming increasingly harder and harder for Republicans to agree with Democrats, and vice versa. While yes, disagreement in a society is crucial to improving it, and the United States is by no means perfect, we can’t be so much in disagreement that we lack the ability to see our fellow citizens for what they are, people trying to better their lives and their country. We all used to have a common thought, that the only difference between Republicans and Democrats was how to reach our own version of a worldly utopia. However, this has changed. Most Americans now believe that the other political party is not trying to achieve greatness for America, but instead try to ruin it. Conservatives say that Liberals are steering the country towards an authoritarian communist state, while Liberals say Conservatives are steering the country towards a facist state of bigotry and hate. I need not say that people holding these ideals are dangerous, I only need to ask that you look at the news from the past two years.
The Greek writer Aesop, who authored many classic children's tales we read to our kids
today, wrote that “united we stand, divided we fall”5. This is a point echoed throughout many historical documents, such as the Gospel of Mark in the Bible and the writings of Thomas Jefferson. We may disagree, in fact that is the best way to improve the world we live in, but when our disagreements in turn begin to steer us down a path towards violence, that is when disaster strikes. Division is the biggest threat to our democracy. It is not the Democratic Party. Nor is it the Republican Party. It is not China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. Division is what could undo us all in the end. Unity doesn’t mean we all need to agree, but it does mean that we need to keep civility and respect in our public discourse.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, please consider subscribing for more. If you would like to see more of my work, feel free to check out how we can influence our culture by making changes to our own lives, or how the Overton Window has changed in recent years. Thank you once again, and have a wonderful rest of your day.
Kleinfeld, Rachel, “The Rise in Political Violence in the United States and Damage to Our Democracy.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/03/31/rise-in-political-violence-in-united-states-and-damage-to-our-democracy-pub-87584.
“Margaret Thatcher Quotes.” n.d. BrainyQuote. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/margaret_thatcher_138452?src=t_debate.
Morse, Dan. “Man Accused in Plot to Kill Kavanaugh Eyed Other Justices, FBI Says.” The Washington Post. WP Company, July 29, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/28/roske-supreme-court-justice-threats/.
“Vision of Humanity | Destination for Peace.” n.d. Vision of Humanity. https://www.visionofhumanity.org/
Jacobs, Joseph, Aesop, and Richard Heighway. 1966. The Fables of Æsop. New York: Schocken Books.