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A Second Civil War? – By John Reed

A Second Civil War?
There’s enough division in politics and the media these days, some have been saying we’re on the brink of a second civil war. But who is on which side? That depends on who’s doing the telling. Folks who used to be allies aren’t, and strange bedfellows are appearing. Let’s look at who some are claiming to be the opposing sides.
Rich vs. poor: not really. The Democrats have long claimed to be the party of the “little guy” but Trump won by convincing blue collar America he was on their side. The Left seems to be more and more represented by rich Hollywood elites, abandoning the urban poor and minorities along the way. Of course, Republicans have their share of rich corporate folks on their side, yet they can also claim to have provided more employment for minorities than anyone ever before.
North vs. South: nope. After the first Civil War, Republicans opened up voting for freed slaves, resulting in African-Americans getting elected to many positions in the South. Following Reconstruction, Democrats presided over a century of Jim Crow, lynchings, and segregation. In the last couple of decades, the pendulum has swung back the other way, with most Southern states trending Republican again.
Religious vs. secular: sorry. While the hard-right evangelical bunch is big on Trump, there are plenty of less conservative religious groups firmly on the other side.
Urban vs. rural: closer. A quick look at the 2016 election map by county shows the vast majority of Democrat votes coming from the dense cities on both coasts, as well as other metro areas like Chicago and Detroit. On geographic area, Trump won by about 50-1, even though the raw numbers were actually in Hilary’s favor. Even then, many large cities went to Trump.
I’ve decided all the conflict we see is largely made up by the shouting heads on television. Trump supporters don’t care what he’s accused of saying or doing, they just like his results. His detractors don’t care about his results; he could part the Red Sea, and they would complain he caused sea level rise.
But here’s the thing. Despite manufactured scandals from the Left and amateurish fumbles from the White House, things are increasingly, obviously, massively better for the vast majority of citizens since 2016. It’ll be interesting to see if the voting reflects that in November.

3 Comments

  1. Nancy Ponder on September 13, 2018 at 8:17 am

    At present the differences between traditional democracy and socialism is the conflict that raises tempers and fiery rhetoric.

  2. Justin on September 20, 2018 at 1:24 pm

    It’s definitely not obvious that it’s been better for citizens since 2016. You show me one way it is, and I’ll give you ten facts in return of why it’s not. However, it is blatantly obvious that our country is an embarrassment and joke in the face of others, as our Constitution is defecated on almost daily by a man that can’t even form complete sentences. “But you know, China and, we are going to, America is great you see. I know the best people. Tariffs, I visited North Korea. I really like eggs, Hillary, I’m the best right folks? That’s why the tariffs are a smartly idea.”

  3. Edgar Herrington on November 15, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    John Reed quote: “Trump supporters don’t care what he’s accused of saying or doing, they just like his results.” Trump’s results are to cut taxes for the corporations, which is the same as saying to cut taxes for himself because his businesses are composed of corporations RESULTS in running the national debt even further upwards while borrowing money to GIVE TO THE CORPORATIONS. Deficit is now $100 billion monthly or $100 thousand million monthly saying another way. Lost the House of Representatives…Got a little better deal on NAFTA, but ONLY a little better, not a LOT better…Told his people over 6,000 LIES, got all of the world’s leaders except for our enemy Russia mad at him. Today, it appears reality is starting to set in on most of Trump’s supporters.

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