(Last update:: January 8, 2021)
By January, 1861, after decades of public and private debate--some of it polite, some of it downright vicious--America stood on the verge of civil war. The country was breaking apart. That break was slicing the nation along one, singularly sharp ideological line: slavery.
The South lived by slavery. It's economy was built upon slavery. Its culture demanded slavery. The South couldn't live without slavery.
By contrast, the North was industrialized. Compared to the agrarian South, the North was modern. The North didn't need slavery to survive. While many in the South advocated to extend slavery, many in the North wanted slavery abolished.
Therefore, by January 1861, virtually every American pretty much knew where this divide was heading. Passions ran too high. Sooner or later, there would be war. Likely sooner.
Weeks later, on April 12, 1861, Southern soldiers attacked a Federal Fort near Charleston, South Carolina. That Fort, we know, was called Fort Sumter.
That attack didn't last long. But it represented a Southern military attack against Northern troops. It was the attack that marked the beginning of the bloodiest war America has ever fought on American soil. It was also, by far, the bloodiest war the US has ever fought--anywhere.
That war tore America apart. It was a war fought by American against American, neighbor against neighbor, family against family--and, too often, brother against brother.
That war ended 156 years ago. Nevertheless, some in America will tell you that the wounds of that war have yet to heal.
Now, during another January nearly 160 years after the Fort Sumter attack, America faces another divisive confrontation. Look at these American headlines for January 7, 2021:
-" Chaos erupts as pro-Trump mob storms the Capital"
"Insurrection fueled by conspiracy groups, extremists and fringe movements"
The screen and photo images we saw today--and yesterday--suggest to some the coming of a civil war. Will this really happen to America? Does America now appear once again to fracture along a singular ideological line, as in 1861?
If that happens, the fracturing line this time won't be slavery. It'll be a Presidential election--and the sharp ideological divide behind that election: Progressive versus Conservative. But this fracturing isn't just about simple politics. It's about political thievery.
It's a divide that pits Conservative Americans who believe that one national political Party deliberately stole the November 3, 2020 national election, against Progressive Americans who believe such an allegation is a baseless lie.
How much damage will this fracture do? No one knows.
It could go nowhere. It could evaporate overnight. Or, it could fester. Will it tear America apart?
Certainly, at least in the near term, America won't sit still. It will surely play a political blame game.
Scapegoats will be sought. Scapegoats will be found. Scapegoats will be demonized. They will be attacked.
Such a game will solve nothing. It will deliver no peace--only anger and the desire for a future revenge.
The question is, where will America go from here? Will it settle its differences peacefully? Or, will Progressive Democrat turn against Republican Conservative? Will neighbor turn against neighbor, brother against brother, parent against child?
Riots in America's cities this past summer. Drawn guns in the House Chamber this winter. This isn't good.
America's democracy is stressed by this violence. Democracy in America is fragile right now. It's under pressure.
There could be civil turmoil. There could be civil war. There could be tyranny in America's future, not equality or free speech.
Beware, America. Your survival as "the land of the free and the home of the brave" is on the line here, in early 2021. Do you understand this?
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