THOUGHTS REGARDING HOW BAD THINGS HAVE GONE IN AMERICA AS ITS INDEPENDENCE DAY APPROACHES,
AND EXACTLY HOW DIVIDED ON A PRONOUNCED SCALE THIS COUNTRY HAS GOTTEN
As America’s 246th birthday approaches with the picnics, parades and fireworks that mark the fourth day of July,
It is safe to say that outside of the Civil War,
If there’s ever been a time in this history of these United States of America where the different political, cultural and ideological philosophies of the population have had such animosity for one another,
I would like to know what that time was.
Actually, when I think about it all, as someone with a bachelor’s degree in history who studied American (and African-American) history in particular, I’m convinced that it’s safe to make this statement…
The name United States should have a “so-called” in the front of such, because there has NEVER REALLY been a UNITED states.
Here’s some proof to what has been just said:
- When the Constitution was first ratified in 1787, the Southern colonies – Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia – has to be dragged into ratifying it kicking and screaming over the issue of slavery as in their opinion and hearts, there was no way they would form a country with their Northern counterparts if they weren’t going to keep their slaves. Which led to developments like the compromises in 1820 and 1850
- The fact that slavery gradually became common all over the American colonies in the years after 1619, complete with the Slave Trade and all the slave codes and laws that made Blacks less than human in most white people’s eyes, is certainly a prime example of division – as was the Jim Crow segregation laws that followed the Civil War starting in 1865 and persisted for the next hundred years
- I don’t think I have to state the extremely pronounced division in this country not only between the years 1861 and 1865, which manifested itself into extreme violent bloodshed and cost 600,000 lives, but also in the twenty some-odd years preceding it.
That’s just a small list of examples focusing on the 19th and 20th centuries.
As for this century…
I don’t have to mention all the conflicts, confrontations, riots, and outright brawls – not to mention the attempted coup of the government in Washington, D.C. on January 6th of last year which was practically ordered by the former President-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named – that have abounded within the past several years.
Not to mention this latest extremely pronounced and angry confrontation between those who fervently support a woman’s right to choose what she can do with her body and those who even more fervently say that ending a pregnancy before nine months not only must never, ever happen under any circumstances, to do such must be seen as murder punishable by prison time;
Who five members of the Supreme Court recently sided with in their ruling which ended Roe vs Wade.
I feel that the seeds of this extreme conflict between liberals and conservatives in “red” and “blue” states were sown when Barack Obama was elected President in 2008;
Right-wing conservative whites in particular were so upset over this country being run by someone who they see as an “inferior” due to his skin color that they began to resolve to, to coin their famous phrase,
“Make America Great Again”, which (at least in my view) means a return to laws, customs and policies reflecting values that regards anyone not,
- White
- Conservative
- Male
- Wealthy (or at least upper middle class)
- Heterosexual
and,
- Christian (preferably Evangelical Protestant)
As a so-called “lesser” who has a place in their society and needs to “stay in that place” such as the Jim Crow laws that were common from the 1860s to the 1960s.
This determination to return this country to what it should be in their view really manifested itself and gained significant steam with the election of You-Know-Who in 2016;
His policies and actions galvanized the far right white Conservatives, the 2017 confrontations in Charlottesville, VA where a counter-protester was run over by a car and killed and the far right-laden Supreme Court ending Roe vs Wade sparking what I would call new Civil War battles with the protests and confrontations between the alt-right conservatives and liberals and the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life supporters being but two examples of such galvanization.
The election of Joe Biden, with Kamala Harris as his running mate and the first Vice-President who’s both a woman and of color, while it was a relief from the clutches of You-Know-Who,
Along with the polarization between those who are passionate about everyone getting vaccinated, boosted, and wearing masks when necessary in order to bring this COVID-19 pandemic to an end and those who don’t care one iota about such and, by never getting shots or wearing masks and congregating in large numbers without regards to anyone else, are prolonging this health crisis and getting people sick,
Hasn’t help these fifty states any as far as achieving even a tiny bit of unity.
It all comes down to a case of both sides – especially the far right conservatives who swear by Fox News and sees the former President-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as almost God – having no desire whatsoever to compromise and desperately want to mold America into their image by any means necessary.
Which is why more than ever, this is NOT the United States of America,
But the Divided States of America.
It has been that way for the past 400-plus years, dating back to before this country became a country.
And to be honest, I see these Divided States remaining a reality in at least the near future and, the way things are going,
Probably beyond that.
So,
That’s where we, the over 300 million citizens of this country in the middle of North America,
Stand as Independence Day approaches.
The question now being,
“Can/will the people of this country ever come together and become an actual nation?”
My answer to that inquiry at this moment?
I honestly don’t know.
In then meantime,
Despite everything, I wish everyone a…
#HAPPYFOURTHOFJULY
hartlandchronicles 