It is with great sadness that I report that the United States of America has died of polarization. She was 244. She left behind one survivor, The Divided States of America. As the heir to the throne of Western Civilization, Ms. Divided has requested that we conduct an autopsy on the death of her mother.
Right-wing Populism
While there were many causes of death, the United States began showing early symptoms of populism in the last decade. Many Americans felt left behind by the liberal elites under eight years of the Obama Administration and found their political savior in Donald Trump.
Billionaire New Yorker Donald Trump, who was once a Democrat, rebranded himself to be the candidate of the “common man,” seeking to re-energize flyover country and elsewhere. A mass of voters that had remained untapped for generations had now been awakened by the “Make America Great Again” movement, which pushed for nationalism and arguably uninformed patriotism. Although this group was plentiful in numbers, his supporters managed to make their voice heard only when Donald Trump became President of the United States.
While in office, he began doing almost precisely what he promised. His most loyal supporters praised every action, regardless of principle, and defended every misstep. President Trump did not seek to shrink the role of government in Americans’ lives, but to be a political strongman, who would do whatever he pleased.
The primary issue, of course, is that because President Trump was a registered Republican, he became the face of conservatism. Groups went along with it by attempting to shape conservatism into whatever the President’s last tweet decreed. Those who were not firm in their conservative principles nodded along as well, insisting that it was about time the Right played by the Left’s rules. Their solution was to pour gasoline onto the fire.
As a result, bizarre passion was thrown behind the culture war, in which the Right would become more outraged at Aunt Jemima being taken off maple syrup bottles than poor Supreme Court decisions on abortion or religious liberty. The issues that truly mattered were substituted by a fixation on the ridiculous actions of the Leftist mob. With this mentality, Right-wing populists preferred to spend their time emptying the grocery store shelves of Goya Food products instead of making phone calls to get their local Republican elected.
Anyone who brought this up to the populist right was labeled an “establishment hack” or a “RINO.” The person conducting this autopsy will take his chances.
Leftism
Despite Right-wing populism only coming to fruition in recent years, Leftism has been developing for some time. It has finally reached its violent peak. As this autopsy is being conducted, riots are tearing apart cities across America, with federal agencies being ordered in to restore law and order (or so we are told).
Leftists, although not all young in physical years, but nearly all lacking maturity, sought radical reformation of the United States and Western Civilization to the point of near destruction.
The desire to cripple Western Civilization and its constructs had brought the United States of America down to its knees. Whether it was statues or social mores, they wanted to dismantle it with little regard for knowing its intended purpose. Among each other, they were comrades, but those who opposed their extreme tactics were considered the “oppressors,” even if it was someone merely minding their own business.
They claimed that it was a privilege not to be political and be a voice against what they viewed as an injustice. But that statement was a farce because the exact opposite was true. In the United States, people had the right to criticize their government and society without fear of consequences freely, so long as they were not acting violently.
Those who viewed the United States as a failed country tended to be the same people who had reaped the most benefits of the great nation, whether they had realized it or not. Regardless of how illegitimate a cause was, being able to take action in person or on social media was taking advantage of the United States Constitution. Although the framers of the Constitution were flawed, their ideas have helped their most vicious opponents.
Instead of understanding this reality, Leftists preferred to see the downfall of Western Civilization. The obvious question is: what’s the alternative? Eastern Civilization? For those who believe that Eastern Civilization would be the progressive alternative, they would be thoroughly disappointed to see the horrible injustices towards the minorities they sought to protect in the nations that do not have Western values.
The Radical Left’s biggest hypocrisy is embracing ideologies, like communism, which is currently enabling what may go down as the greatest injustice of the 21st Century. I am referring to the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China. There is substantial evidence to believe that the Chinese Communist Party has been actively putting the Uyghur population into concentration camps. Although details have been scarce to the outside world, it is reasonable to believe that this crime against humanity may result in something akin to the Holocaust. With this in mind, the United States of America has left Ms. Divided with a significant task, reigning in the modern-day evil empire: China.
The United States’ Last Words
The United States was sparse with words in its last will, as its citizens were having declining respect for historical documents. But she did write the following statement:
“E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. United, we stand. Divided, we fall.”
May she rest in peace.