In light of how divided American politics are right now, it seems to me that there is no longer any room for compromise or in the least opposing sides listening to one another any more. Everyone seems to be entrenched in their own views or living in bubbles. My question is this: are we all on the road to another civil war? If this is your recognition of what is going on in America then what do you feel should be done to prepare for it? Or do you think these rising tensions will blow over and there is nothing ever to be worried about or to prepare for?

That's a lot of drama over an ass of a president.

I'm an outsider of course, but I don't see Americans taking up arms to fight this. Well, not more than the usual picking up arms goes. And that happens rather in Dump's camp and less on the other side.

Tell me if I'm completely off the mark, but I don't think that the vast majority of Americans do actually feel that strongly about defending Trump that they would enter a civil war. Remember, only what, 25% of the voting age population voted for him, and out of those, many probably just hated Hillary.

A civil war is much too serious an affair for us to pull off these days. It would get in the way of what we love and are good at: sitting on our asses, watching television, and complaining to no one in particular.

Unless he actually tries to install government run media, or something along those lines, no. Most people are going to be unwilling to physically fight as long as they mostly have jobs, food, housing, etc.

Given that there is no real separation of personal political affiliation in any community, civil war seems pretty unlikely. Sure, rural areas are more conservative, urban areas more liberal, but that's just a tendency, not a hard and fast rule. Much as I'd like it, a secession by say, California, is pretty much a non-starter. No large group of legislative types is going to want that golden goose gone.

(February 21, 2017 at 4:47 pm)Alex K Wrote: Tell me if I'm completely off the mark, but I don't think that the vast majority of Americans do actually feel that strongly about defending Trump that they would enter a civil war. Remember, only what, 25% of the voting age population voted for him, and out of those, many probably just hated Hillary.

Many were simply lifelong republicunts who couldn't ever imagine voting for a democrat.... no matter how much of a fucking asswipe the GOP nominated.

(February 21, 2017 at 5:01 pm)Fireball Wrote: Given that there is no real separation of personal political affiliation in any community, civil war seems pretty unlikely. Sure, rural areas are more conservative, urban areas more liberal, but that's just a tendency, not a hard and fast rule. Much as I'd like it, a secession by say, California, is pretty much a non-starter. No large group of legislative types is going to want that golden goose gone.

No shit, right? As much as those rock-ribbed red state, small government conservative 'individualists' like to bitch about California, New York, and other blue states, they'd be screwed without the federal money that flows into their state coffers courtesy of those states.

Don't forget, it's not whether some people love Trump and others hate him, it's about a deep division in values that is gaining ever wider.

The Republicans and their supporters have been moving much further to the right over time while the rest of the America and the world have been becoming more liberal.

It's a battle being fought between conservatism and progress.

(February 21, 2017 at 4:32 pm)Secular Elf Wrote: In light of how divided American politics are right now, it seems to me that there is no longer any room for compromise or in the least opposing sides listening to one another any more.  Everyone seems to be entrenched in their own views or living in bubbles.  My question is this: are we all on the road to another civil war?  If this is your recognition of what is going on in America then what do you feel should be done to prepare for it?  Or do you think these rising tensions will blow over and there is nothing ever to be worried about or to prepare for?

I'm a historian by profession. I've seen this all over and over again. Roosevelt's third term guaranteed that fascism would be the law of the land by 1940. Etc. While it's hard to find a worse president than the one we have now I don't think the system is as nearly broken as the internet doom-sayers would have you believe.