One Spark to Ignite a New American Civil War

The right extremists in this country, like those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, have been predicting and calling for a new civil war. Think about the possibilities of such a tragedy. Americans are well-armed to the tune of 400 million weapons and counting, many gun owners are angry at their own government, and the political divide in Washington has reached gargantuan proportions as Republicans are beginning to embrace open violence and racism against Democrats. All we need is one spark to ignite a new American civil war.

The stage is set thanks to several factors that have began with the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.

The anger has been accruing over the years since the Reagan era.

WHY THE ANGER

Many will attribute the immense anger we see before us, from crime on the streets, to riots, to vigilantes roaming with their AR-15 looking for people to kill might all be due to COVID. But that is a simple answer to a complex issue. The anger has been accruing over the years since the Reagan era. COVID was the straw that broke the camel’s back but the weight on that camel has intensified the last 40 years. Just look at the graph below showing the American people mistrust in government to see a trend long forming before our eyes.

Only after 9/11 did we see a notable spike of patriotism that helped our government to prosecute the perpetrators.

Middle class in America has become s struggle instead of an opportunity.

ONE SPARK TO IGNITE A CIVIL WAR

Why all that anger on Main Streets? I attribute it to these factors:

• CORRUPT CONGRESS. Public awareness that Congress was no longer accountable to the people but rather to the highest corporate bidder. During Reagan, corporations descended on Washington to write our laws that only benefited their bottom lines. Their target? Your disposable income. Healthcare and drug costs is but one example. The impact after 40 years is devastating families.
• INCOME INEQUALITY. The income inequality has metastasized into a vast display between the haves and the haves not. While CEO’s salaries increased by 940% since 1978, minimum wages increased only by 12%. Middle class in America has become s struggle instead of an opportunity.
• POLICING AND RACISM. Only since the death of George Floyd, which sent a global shock wave across the globe did we begin to see local governments come down hard on police brutality. Americans live in fear of their police the same way Iranians fear the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), or the East Germans their Stasi.
• RESPONSE TO COVID. Just as Ronald Reagan responded slowly to AIDS, Donald Trump responded slowly or erratically to COVID. He bet the farm on herd immunity, which led to the death of half a million Americans. Never mind the psychological impact as long as the federal government bails out corporations to keep the stock market from crashing.
• CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS. America is turning browner until few years from now when the Caucasian race would become a minority. This is why Donald Trump and his followers are angry. It’s all about the possibility of losing power to people they hate.

Our politicians are failing this country on a grand scale. Their pettiness, their corruption, and their lack of vision is baking this nation into a burned-out crust.

OUR POLITICIANS ARE FAILING THIS COUNTRY

When it comes to our politicians, they all are failing this country. Those on the right have lost their minds, and those on the left, with the exception of the few, pass their hats to corporate America and listen only to their concerns. We saw this shameful scenario play out with Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.

Money and power has attracted the worst political figures this country has ever witnessed. Add to this formula the gullibility and the low IQ of the typical American voter, many of whom, incidentally, are armed to their teeth and this country is experiencing self-cannibalism.

Whether the one spark to ignite a civil war will be the crash of the stock market, or persistent COVID mutations to change our lives for the worse, I don’t know. All I know is that all the ingredients are in place for this keg powder to explode. Be it a large stash of guns in the hands of civilians, or extreme street anger. Be it economic deprivation of the masses, or an out-of-control government unable to find its balancing act in an age of almost total mistrust. Much less started civil wars, and much less destroyed whole empires in the past.

Our politicians are failing this country on a grand scale. Their pettiness, their corruption, and their lack of vision is baking this nation into a burned-out crust.

That spark could have been January 6.

One Spark to Ignite a New American Civil War