America’s form of government is fracturing into a myriad of ideologies. In the United States and worldwide there is a scramble to seize power. The cordiality and compromising character of these factions is non-existent. We certainly see this in America.
The ruling party of Conservatives are under ceaseless attack from the Liberals. There is an immense amount of distrust. But there are also a multitude of world view differences. It is truly a war between the “Liberals” and the “Conservatives.”
To this outsider, these are the major issues and their opposing stances:
Climate Change: In fact, the earth’s temperature is rising, and ice caps are melting. There is agreement on both sides that this is true. However, concerning the effects of the earth’s rise in temperature there is staunch disagreement. One side believes in a dire extinction event. The other sees this as a natural adjustment, that happens regularly, and is no cause for alarm.
Economy: Technically “Conservatives” want a balanced budget and a reduced national debt. They are pro-business and anti-regulations. “Laissez faire” (leave us alone) is their economic slogan. This affects their perception on global warming too. Currently, the U.S. has immense oil shale and coal deposits, much of it in National Parks and government owned lands. The burning of these fuels for energy is adamantly opposed by Liberals for fear of its damage to the atmospheric environment and its dreadful ecological, health, and economic consequences. The Conservatives see these fossil fuels as an economic boon for America. Many Liberals see Conservative policies as making humanity’s extinction inevitable.
Social and Spiritual Relativity: A general agreement among citizens concerning God, morality, and ethics sociologists and anthropologists say, are the backbones of any civilization. A mutuality of core religious and ethical beliefs among a society’s citizens is essential to its continuance. Wisdom teaches us that without such a national consensus, “A house divided against itself will fall!” If a respect for differences of opinion cannot be tolerated in a Democratic Republic like America’s, since 1776, then only one other form of government can keep any nation that has splintered together. That is a Totalitarian Dictatorship. This is what the Romans did. They traded in their Republic for strong dictators, “Caesars.”
The Liberals are insistent on a women’s right to abort the children for any reason. The Conservatives want controls, restraints, or the elimination of abortion. Neither side is going to budge.
The Conservatives and Liberals fiercely disagree about a myriad of issues critical to the health and adhesiveness of our society. Our government has been in a stalemate for decades. Very little gets accomplished that lasts longer than when the opposing party takes office and eliminates it. The pendulum continues to swing both ways so that no party and create permanent and effective change.
My beloved country of America, the land of my fathers, their dreams, mine, our children’s, and the hope of the world is on the edge of huge change, one way or the other. Our rulers are at war with each other. They must see that our country will collapse if both sides will not compromise. Either that, or else our states will divide, based on their population’s political majority, and form separate unions. History teaches us that if we cannot unify then a form of monolithic totalitarian will rule.
Dictators, or as they were once called, “kings” have absolute authority. They are above all other rule. They are making a comeback. If constitutional democracies cannot perform their vital functions, then what other course is there? It will become a choice between anarchy or a fascistic dystopian rule.
Who will win the war being fought in America between two opposing world views? The winner, history teaches, will be the one to take total control first.
I am a believer in our Constitutional Democratic Republic. I am not advocating for Totalitarianism. I am merely diagnosing our current political dilemma and predicting an outcome based on history.
Mark Baird
