America is going through a difficult moment, with right versus left making a mockery of civility both online and in public. Whether the ideological divide is going to eventually engulf the whole country, pitting neighbor against neighbor in a war for survival, remains to be seen. Until then, all it takes is a quick glance at Twitter to find countless sources telling tales of vicious attacks brewed by passionate defenses of political ideologies. This brutality might be amplified by online platforms and their users, but to at least one demographic in particular, it signals that things are only getting worse.
A recent Rasmussen Reports survey found that 44% of black voters believe the U.S. will “experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years,” whereas only 7% of white voters believe that a civil war is “very likely” to break out. On the other hand, 38% of white voters don’t see a civil war taking place in America anytime soon.
Among other minorities, concerns regarding a potential war are also high, with 34% of Latinos and others saying a civil war is at least somewhat likely.
While it’s hard to pinpoint the specific reason why each individual black and Latino respondent believes that a war is imminent, it doesn’t take a great deal of analysis to conclude that the left’s scare tactics are working on their target demographics.
Since the 2016 presidential election when Democratic candidates associated Trump with doomsday scenarios, nuclear wars, and utter decline of the American empire, Americans who lean left politically have been told the end is near.
Removing Trump from office, they repeated, was key to getting America back on track.
As the contagious dissatisfaction spread, even the right began to unite against Trump, building up the tensions and helping the left justify its hateful rhetoric.
As the nation follows the impeachment hearings and listens to 2020 Democratic candidates blaming all that is wrong with America on Trump, it’s safe to say there’s no end to the political divide insight.
How long will it take until a civil war does break out? And if it doesn’t, would half of the country be willing to completely criminalize a certain political ideology to soothe the tensions? Would that mean the other half of the country would be pushed into the shadows, being forced to discuss their political leanings away from the thought police?
In time, the prevailing group would want to implement stern measures against those who refuse to comply. By then, would they advocate for the imprisonment of their fellow Americans? What would the future look like in such a politically divided country?
As explained by the Mises Institute president, Jeff Deist, there’s only one real option for those who want peace.
If we want to come out unscathed from this difficult phase, we must go beyond begging for tolerance. Instead, we must elevate division — but not of the social kind. We must bring back localism, federalism, and yes, political separation.
In a country so large and so diverse as America, allowing people to take control of their communities makes sense. After all, a bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., has absolutely no idea what the head of a household in Boise, Idaho, goes through. Why should he be dictating what kind of political ideology that an individual should subscribe to?
In a world where politically charged conflicts could ignite a civil war, why not look at decentralization as a peaceful, lasting solution?
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