Living through a divided America

Born in 1942, I’ve managed to live through three major divisions in American society.  There were many more, of course, but I am thinking of the three big ones.  The first, well underway when I was high school and college, was the Civil Rights movement.  The country was divided along geographical lines, with the old Confederate states mostly opposed to racial equality, but significant pockets in the rest of the country also opposed to the March for Freedom.  On the other hand we had governors, Congress members, even presidents on the side of Civil Rights.  Racial issues are still here, but legal discrimination on the basis of race is largely at an end.’

The second huge division was over the Vietnam War.  While the government favored the war, large chunks of American citizens saw that war as immoral and not in keeping with American values.  Again, many political leaders, some congress members, and millions of citizens demonstrated their opposition.  The war ended, of course, and it ended badly, but the scars are healing over and today we trade with an independent and unified Vietnam.

Then we had the War on Terrorism.  That led to a controversial war against Iraq under the mistaken assumption that Iraq was the instigator of international activity aimed at the U.S.  The War in Iraq brought it official American government support for various methods of torture.  Men are still being held in Guantanamo without trial.  And that war morphed into the War in Afghanistan, which ended badly for combatants on both sides.  

In each of those three cases we had a free press, political leaders on both sides who spoke without intimidation, and governmental institutions that sometimes acted badly, but never failed completely.  One or more branches of the Federal government provided support to the Civil Rights movement, or to the anti-war movement, or to the continuing opposition to torture and illegal detainment. 

Now we have the Fourth Division.  The press, with one or two excerptions, is compliant to Trump.  Wall Street is compliant.  The Congress is controlled by the rich and powerful and bows to Donald Trump.  The public is led around by social media and its minions.  There is almost no independent source of pushback.  

During the first three major divisions I’ve experienced, I always felt that my side would win, at least in part.  This time I am not so sure.  Tonight a group of us wrote postcards.  Postcards.  I think we need a lot more, and I don’t where that will be coming from.