Civil War Two!

You may not have noticed, but our second Civil War has begun.

The first battle of Civil War Two was on January 6, when insurrectionists attacked the Capitol.  Since then, the evidence is mounting that we're headed in the wrong direction.  

Democracy is on the defensive.

Trust in our institutions is eroding.

Congress is in a partisan logjam.

The Supreme Court will not save us.  Quite the reverse, the current Court can be counted on to endorse and accelerate what is tearing us apart - human rights, guns, voting, race relations, abortion, politics - and more.

Violence will be the hallmark of Civil War Two.  To think that we're on a peaceful path for settling our disagreements is a pipe dream.

I'd like to think that in the end the good guys will win, and we'll preserve our fairy tale narrative of America as the shining city on the hill.  Not likely.  The bad guys have history on their side.  Empires, civilizations, countries, have a short shelf life.  We've had a good run (unless you're black or brown or queer or seen as the other), and for that we can be grateful.

I realize that in my youth I had an assumption that we were on the right side, that we should be proud of what we stood for, America was a noble dream.  I was happy to tell that story to people around the world.  So how do I feel about that today when my youth is a distant memory?  

I feel betrayed!  My idealism has been replaced by cynicism.  I am dismayed by what I see.  And I feel helpless to do anything about it.  I'd like it to be otherwise, but that's the way it looks to me.