The great hot air machine has been in over-drive telling us how divided we are. While I think there may a scattering of nut job sponsored acts of political violence ahead, the idea of full-blown civil war is very remote in my opinion. Here's a good article to help explain why. Allow me to add a few of my own reasons. People are too busy just trying to stay afloat in this strange economy of socialism for the rich and casino capitalism for the rest of us. We are too old and out of shape for the rigors of war. It is one thing to go play dress up make believe in front of a Starbucks as this veteran tells us while real war is something very different. The Republican base is aging out ie dying. Yeah, that old dude was a badass in the Vietnam war fifty or so years ago. How long can he last being hunted not by Charlie but Apache Gunships with night vision? He knows the answer, not long. On the left is the mythical boogie-man, Antifa. Antifa simply means “anti-fascist.” It is more of an idea than an organization with meetings, trainings and news letters. If you want to learn more, look here. They are not completely innocent but hardly rise to a "side" in a new civil war. Our demographics are also off for an internal large-scale conflict.
There needs to large scale unemployment among young, educated and uneducated alike. By high, I mean like greater than 20%. It got close to that during the Great Recession but fell pretty fast according to this graphic. In addition there has to be a pervasive feeling of hopelessness. While there is a feeling of the system being heavily rigged for the rich, we are still pretty far from third world levels of unemployment, corruption and scarcity. For the time being, we still have a social safety net with things like food stamps, unemployment, disability and medicaid. They help take the edge of desperation. Have a place to stay and something to eat you're less likely to take up arms and or become a political terrorist. Mom and Dad's basement or your old room is preferable to a foxhole in the middle of the woods hoping the police don't show up and that helicopter in the distance does not start getting closer. The back woods are also a far cry from hamburger row, microwave pizza and two liter sugary drinks. Our youth get most of their calories via junk food. Youth mental health is another unresolved issue that is getting worse. Civil War 2.0 is not a good idea for improving mental health outcomes. I think there is something else also. We are just too busy.
The unemployment rate keeps falling despite the great resignation. People are not quitting work, they are finding new jobs or creating their own jobs. House mortgage payments, car payments, credit card payments and student loans are not going away because you want to go fight the other "side." Most people want to pay off their loans, even the student debit. Student loan forgiveness might be nice but that's not happening anytime soon. Until then pay up or be hounded to the grave by Uncle Sam. Now add to the bill pile a few kids. They need to eat, hopefully more than just junk food. They got kid stuff to do like football, baseball practice, dance classes and piano lessons. You, the adult, has to help make that happen. Becoming a full time militia member may not be the best notion for an improved family life. There's are more variables; the US military, and the rest of the world.
Every member of the military takes an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. They don't take oaths to generals or presidents. They are taught to NOT follow unconstitutional orders. This includes state national guard units as well. Guard units don't follow illegal orders. Here's a related example. So you want to start a rebellion or insurrection? Good luck with that going against the US military. Ask Uday and Qusay how that worked out. Such a conflict would not happen in a vacuum. How will our neighbors both north and south react? What about NATO? Are China and Russia just going to watch? Nobody wants a huge nuclear armed power destabilized. The whole notion of civil war 2.0 is an oversimplification of a myriad of complex and interconnected problems.
Yes, the problem of massive and still growing income inequality is legitimate cause for concern. It is unsustainable and never ends well. Our crumbling, overpriced healthcare delivery system is another worry. What good is great healthcare if people cannot afford it? Our government no longer responds to the needs and wants of the people. They jump at any chance to further the interests of the donor class or the military industrial complex. The media seldom tells us the news. Instead, they chase ratings and advertising dollars leaving us less informed too often simply scapegoating another group for very real problems. One our political parties has become a cult only offering tax cuts for the rich, deregulation and NO to anything else. The other political party simply forgets average workers, minorities or anyone else who cannot write a good six figure donation check. On top of these, there's the creeping specter of climate change. I have no doubt you can add to this list. All of these problems are solvable by making better decisions but none are going away fast. Talk of civil wars, revolutions and civil strife might help ratings but do little to nothing to resolve real-world issues facing us. That's going to take informed citizens each doing their part to co-create a more just world.
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