If our country were a marriage, there’d be a lot of people asking for a divorce right now. And we know how messy those can be. When irreconcilable differences go unresolved between spouses, one or both parties may seek to dissolve the marriage. On a national level, history has shown us that unresolved differences can lead to war. Which is a little bit like divorce.
In either case, this doesn’t necessarily imply a military conflict. There can be such a thing as a non-shooting “cold war” just as once existed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. There’s been no formal declaration of war between any political parties in this country, but it sometimes feels like it’s getting closer. At the very least, we’re in a war of opposing ideologies and principles—two political sides with fundamentally different visions of America. Only the naive or those in denial can consider this an overstatement.
I’m not alone in my view. Author and radio host Dennis Prager stated in 2010, following the unusually specious congressional procedure that lead to the passing of Obamacare, “I write the words ‘civil war’ with an ache in my heart. But we are in one.” About a week later, economist and political commentator Walter Williams implied the same when he wrote, “I believe we are nearing a point where there are enough irreconcilable differences between those Americans who want to control other Americans and those Americans who want to be left alone that separation is the only peaceable alternative.” Conservative author and news commentator David Horowitz was way ahead of the curve when he said in 1996, “The Left is permanently at war with America.”
It’s been said that Democrats and Republicans basically want the same things, but have different ways of going about attaining them. While this may have once been true, it’s no longer the case. Let’s not forget President Obama’s own words, when he said, on October 30, 2008, “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” What fundamentals did he have in mind? And how was he going to change them? Alter the Constitution? Nullify a few Federal laws? Some of us would have liked to have seen a detailed plan.
While it may be of some consolation that our conflict remains a cold war, it doesn’t make the division any easier to negotiate. Nevertheless, it’s the state of affairs in which we now find ourselves. Here in 2023, we face a disquieting reality that’s been years in the making: Americans divided by fundamental difference in values, goals, and vision. On one side you have those who favor a large proactive government that takes care of and regulates its citizens (and in some cases non-citizens). On the other side you have those who believe that Americans should manage their own affairs with a minimum of government interference.
Our deep divide is more than a difference in ideology. It’s also a difference in perception. It may indeed be true that there are two different Americas, as Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards once claimed. In any case, we don’t see the same America. It’s as if we’re all looking at the same piece of furniture, but while some see a table, others see a chair.
How can such a severe disparity in perception be reconciled, when the traditional American value system and the modern leftist value system are incompatible? Perhaps the best approach would be to first acknowledge our differences and understand that a compromise might be impossible. From there, we could concede that “live and let live” might be the best option. After all, nobody likes to have someone else’s values imposed on them. Why force it?
Unfortunately, it’s possible that we’re becoming so intellectually and emotionally feeble that we’ve lost the ability and desire to co-exist with those whose desires, goals, and lifestyles differ from ours. If that’s so, then history would suggest that eventually one side will seek to overcome the other through the use of force. Or one side may just decide to start their own sovereign state. Hey, it’s happened many times before.
But let’s remember, none of this ever happens in a vacuum. It’s a big crazy world out there. There’s a third possible scenario. Irreconcilable differences could lead to disunion and decay, leaving an open invitation for other nations to intervene. In which case, somewhere down the road, the United States might end up being just another unfortunate chapter in the history books.
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