Fueled by a fine dark ale, the debate at our table centered on whether the U.S. was on the verge of another civil war, or already immersed in one..At the table were gentlemen who claim to be lawyers, a doctor who works in the emergency room of a local hospital, a retired banker, an accountant, a securities advisor, a retired oilman and me, the under-appreciated and over-opinionated media guy. We like to think our group as diverse, with good solid ideals and beliefs in common sense and decency. Except the oil guy. He’s a Liberal..The legal fellows put their heads together: “It depends on how you define civil war.”.“It’s a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country,” said I. (Thanks Google.).“What then,” asked the legal beagles, “is the definition of war?”.“Armed conflict,” replied the doctor. (He would know.).“Well then,” the legal team said collectively, “we put forth that the U.S. is not in another civil war.”.An uncivil war, then? ‘Ill-mannered, impolite uncivil remarks, not conducive to civic harmony and welfare.’ (Thanks again, Google.) .So, an uncivil war is raging in the U.S., with Republicans and Democrats alike throwing rhetoric on the fire..At the centre of it are former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden..The FBI raided Trump’s private residence in Florida, supposedly looking for classified documents, with the Department of Justice threatening to charge Trump with espionage. Which led Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.-SC) to say, “If there is a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information after the Clinton debacle, there will be riots in the streets.”.At his inauguration, Biden said his goal was to unite the country..“We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature. For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward,” he said..Then he spoke last week at a Maryland rally where he accused MAGA Republicans of sem-fascism..“We’re seeing now either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA agenda. It’s not just Trump. It’s almost semi-fascism.”.Semi-fascism? What the hell is that? Hitler, with a pinch of Churchill?.As my learned pals at the table opined: “You can’t be semi-innocent.”.“You can’t have a semi-broken arm.”.“You can’t have a semi-overdrawn account.”.“It doesn’t add up,” said the accountant..Nor does it promote unity..A new poll by YouGovAmerica found only 8% of Americans believe the U.S. is less divided than in January 2021. Further, 66% say Americans are more split politically since the start of 2021 and they are largely pessimistic about the future, with 63% saying they expect the separations to increase and 62% predicting political violence will worsen over the next few years..Asked about the likelihood the country will be riven by a second civil war in the next 10 years, 14% believe it is ‘very likely,’ 29% say it is ‘somewhat likely,’ with 24% saying ‘not very likely’ and 11% saying ‘not likely at all.’ Another 22% say they aren’t sure..US unity lives only in political divisions..The poll found 79% of Republicans believe the divisions have worsened since President Biden took office, compared to 59% of Democrats and 65% of independents. Additionally, 72% of Republicans say the divisions will only deteriorate further in the next few years: Among Democrats and independents, 58% agree. With the divisions festering, 54% of respondents who identify as ‘strong’ Republicans believe it is ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ the US will be in a civil war in 10 years, compared to 40% of ‘strong’ Democrats..And that semi-fascist thing?.There is an adage in politics that says, more or less, if you want to know what the other side has planned, listen to how they describe their opposition..BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales gave this definition of fascism: "(It’s) a system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, an economy subject to stringent governmental controls, violent suppression of the opposition and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism."."I can't think of anything that describes the left any better," she added. “They have nefarious purposes for what they're doing with these labels and 'MAGA,' 'Trump,' 'conservative,' 'small government,' all the buzzwords are all going to mean 'fascism' very soon.".At the table, our oil guy asked, “Has someone down south been reading Trudeau’s playbook?”
