The 2016 Student Body Class President is back. Remember he wedgied, connived, bribed, lied and bullied his way to victory once. And then, when he could not repeat it, he waged all-out war against the institution sending thousands of “peaceful protesters” to disrupt the process of ratifying the Electoral College results of the 2020 election. Now, 4 years later he returns in full force and with a determined legion of MAGA followers along with a cowed and submissive Republican party to once again blaze their way to the White House.
The 2024 race is decidedly different from the previous election years of the 21st century. Challenges to the republic include increased threats from domestic sources including many of the same factions who participated in the January 6, 2021 protests. The United States is either in withdrawal or non-engagement from conflict in a foreign country for the first time in nearly 50 years. A feat congratulated by derision and doubt by conservative pundits. The rest of the world however seems pitched into chaos with more conflicts in foreign nations since any time dating back to World War II. In short, despite the relative security of the American economy, foreign relations, energy and fuel supplies and other aspects of domestic stability, tension continues to simmer. And Mr. Trump seems to think that he has all the answers to reinstall the former glory of the republic (whatever that means), and he’ll be damned if the cards don’t fall in his favor again.
Nevermind that the list of litigations and pending legal proceedings trailing the former POTUS would make a 3rd world dictator blanche. Don’t forget that he also possesses the uncanny ability to shrug off accusations and indictments of wrongdoing with the innocence of the persecuted and the conscience of a snake healer. The last four years have only made the wily con-man wilier, the zingers more biting and the defiance more defiant. He’s not so subtly announced that he will refuse to concede an election if he is not declared the winner. This is little short of promising another act of sedition which could potentially portend a second civil war and who’s to say that these claims are unfounded? Maybe he’s just jealous of all the other countries engaging in civil unrest and wants to join the club.
Civil War pt. II: Snivel War
Not to take away from the cause, purpose and sacrifices of the American Civil War fought between 1861-1865, but a second internal conflict would carry with it many fewer noble causes instead resulting from an increasing division between classes and the political collapse of the Democrat and Republican parties in their capacity to effectively represent the American citizens. This is exacerbated by the fact that American politics on both sides is fractured along party lines which is the primary cause of its descent into political dysfunction. Most notable is the division within the Republican party itself which not only led to the failure of Congress and repeated oustings of the Speaker of the House, but the semi-collapse of the entire political party and its subsequent loyalty to the cult of personality in Trump.
Add to this the recent introduction of alternative political factions; conspiracy theorists masquerading as conservatives and pseudo liberals who refuse to vote in union with their parties. These are the result of a bipartisan political spectrum that badly needs to include multiple options. As we have seen in recent decades, neither Democrats nor Republicans have faced serious challenges from outside of their parties and it has resulted in either internal corruption, or as we have seen with Republicans, near collapse and then redirection towards a less dedicated candidate regarding traditional party lines. Democrats now walk the dangerous path of not having a defined position or political strategy as a political party that is consistent with their traditional identity. Republicans are forced to resort to a leader who is more approximate with totalitarianism than moderation or bipartisanship. Not only is this evident in the jingoistic speech that often extolls nationalism at rallies but also threatened in his promises to “seek retribution against his opposition”. Trump wants revenge for the past four years and there is no reason to believe that he will not use all the resources at his disposal to achieve it. Revenge governance is bad for business however and the days of open brawls on the Congress and Senate floors are left for lesser democracies, or so we thought. The result of the President of the United States of America given the permission to jail his rivals would threaten the entire political concept of democracy itself. Not to mention the additional evidence that it would provide for an unreliable and corrupted Judicial Branch.
Leading political analysts of international government have identified that there are metrics for countries that indicate the likelihood of civil war or political collapse. Using a scale to rate the support of democracy or rule of autocracy they describe those countries most susceptible to collapse of democratic leadership as “anocracies” or the countries that rate in the middle of the scale. America has increasingly been rated at a score that has fallen from the highest democratic rating on the scale to one that draws nearer to the middle. Presently we are at no danger of immediate conflict or overthrow but there are plenty of markers that are cause for alarm. Most certainly the January 6th incident, but also the sharp increase of non-democratic domestic organizations and militias as well as the militarization of the police forces. With popular opinion sharply divided between those backing movements such as Black Lives Matter, LGBT Rights and organizations such as the Proud Boys and Blue Lives Matter, the potential conflict between both sides could be catastrophic for civilians and infrastructure. Civil war in the United States must be avoided at all costs.
MAGA: Great for Who?
America is playing with fire, or to be more accurate, worshiping a liar. Donald Trump’s last term as President ended with protests, riots and city skies filled with fire and smoke. His stilted speech and thinly veiled dogwhistles resulted in the empowerment of supremacist groups and nationalists, rekindling the fears and pain that years of scabbed over scars concealed regarding the country’s treatment of minorities. Make no mistake that the 44th President is a charlatan of a politician and has only demonstrated the country’s weakness in safeguarding itself from hostile domestic takeover. Fifty years ago his actions would have seen him locked up for sedition and barred from public office of any sort for life. It has become clear that we live in different times where news is prolifically generated by non-qualified news outlets and social media gives a bullhorn to the loudest and most profitable source at the sacrifice of honest journalism and reportage. This is evidenced in the result that citizens now opt to be placated by sources that affirm their beliefs, feed their fears and turn them against their fellow citizens and neighbors.
Perhaps worse of all, the whispers of revolt have begun. Sites trumpeting the rise of a new order to unseat the present one have grown over the years until at times they can be heard as a shout. Some on Trump’s campaign trail have outright stated that they believe that civil war is a distinct possibility if Trump is not elected. The claim may even be quite casual and calculated as if it should be common knowledge that the former President not only deserves to regain the office but also anything but this conclusion must result in dismemberment of the current system of democracy. It’s no secret that January 6th was a carefully coordinated event between the different factions of Trump supporters and conspiracy advocates. Organized groups such as The Proud Boys, Qanon and MAGA supporters used both social media and networking available via phones to coordinate and descend on the Capitol that morning en masse. All they needed was a speech by the outgoing President as a catalyst. The result was the chaos that ensued which many are still attempting to deny as a mere exercise of “their right to assemble”. Even our besieged courts have disagreed with these claims, resulting in the jailing of hundreds in subsequent trials and sentencings.
More than 150 years ago the American Civil War threatened to rend the young nation from its foundations. The United States faced a serious moral dilemma in its reliance upon the institution of slavery which half of the country relied upon for industry and economy. At the same time, freedom and the right to pursue happiness were written into the very document that had been used to declare independence from an oppressive empire. Less than 100 years later we had become the oppressors and it was time to disown that glaring hypocrisy. The Civil War was the most violent and bloody affair that this country has faced in all of its short history. There were no foreign invaders to fall, only the bodies of fellow citizens. All told, the war left approximately 500,000 people dead. It did result in the abolition of slavery as an institution but also resulted in controversial measures that not only enabled disownership of blacks from full rights and freedom but carved a lasting rift in American culture that for many still persists to this day. The Civil War was a just cause that would still be worth fighting for if slavery had not been abolished and existed to this day.
The current calls for war and secession are based on the rantings of a lunatic fringe and their idol/cult leader. Foundless claims that the 2020 election was rigged or stolen from Donald Trump have met sound rebuttal that no evidence to support those claims exists. Evidence does exist that the election that placed Trump in office in 2016 was affected by a foreign body, Russia. Trump is a person who has been represented as a wealthy elite fighting for the “common citizen”. He ran for the office of POTUS on a reputation of celebrity with no political or legal professional experience to reinforce his qualifications. In addition, his finances, business dealings, entertainment empire and myriad of other investments have frequently resulted in bankruptcy, foreclosure, dissolvement or cancellation. The fascination that he holds with the American public is not only the power of celebrity and fame, but he also appeals to the diminishing demographic of white, middle-class citizens. Within a few more years demographic trends show that whites (caucasians) will constitute the minority of races composing the United States. This makes this time the ideal time to foment fear and distrust of others based on what should be a meaningless and inevitable demographic trend. Fear of outsiders, the unknown, the alien is called xenophobia. It is the opposite of what the country is founded upon although we have forgotten this frequently throughout history. If we are to allow a single, fearful entitled elite turn us against our fellow citizens for his own selfish reasons and motivations then how are we to face the rest of the 23rd century? The absurdity of fighting another civil war would not only render the struggles of all before us null and void, but place a mantle of shame on a country that the world looks up to for its inspiring example of democracy.
With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds.
-Abraham Lincoln
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