Irreconcilable differences

Is America beyond repair?

Adveristing poster image from 1984 movie Irreconcilable Differences

Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand - Matthew 12:25

Unless you’ve been in a coma for the past several years, you are aware that there is a cavernous socio-political schism in America. While there are those able to set differences aside and maintain friendships despite political differences, such people are seemingly fewer and further between. This apparently boundless bifurcation has gotten me thinking about whether the country can ever again be unified.

This line of thought led me to ponder multiple potential scenarios. While I have decided to not dig into detail of how I would see each possibility playing out, the list includes:

• America continues along its current trajectory

• a national divorce in which all 50 states return to individual independence, much like pre-Revolution America or pre-EU Europe

• a national divorce in which leftists retain the east coast and west coast states with conservatives retaining the middle of the country

• some other form of national divorce with the states divided primarily between those on the left and right

• a new civil war or revolution in which the left wins

• a new civil war or revolution in which the right wins

• And more….

I know, none of those mention anyone other than left or right. Unfortunately, I think those in the middle, libertarian, and smaller camps would likely end up subject to the whims of these two groups, unless, perhaps, there was a multi-party war in which Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Greens, Democratic Socialists, and heck, why not, Native Americans (and whomever else) each battle independently for their share of the land (which would also likely result in some unlikely alliances).

The issue with these scenarios is neither the scenarios themselves nor even who “wins”; the problem lies in what happens after any of these scenarios plays out. This is where the “irreconcilable differences” enter the picture.

While many point to tribalism, wokeism, DEI, CRT, and other doctrines and -isms as the source of the problems in America, these have all fed off underlying fundamental differences, differences which are due, at least in part (if not in whole) to maleducation (thank you @michaelsmith for that wonderful word).

Diverse groups of Americans hold very different perspectives on, and understanding of, the foundation of the country, the contents of the Constitution, the intent of the Bill of Rights, and the purpose of government. The discordances between these beliefs is undermining the country itself.

Consider, for example, the concept of the hierarchy of power in the country. Ask many (most?) Americans, and they’ll stand on the idea of federal supremacy, and a hierarchy with the federal government at the top, state governments taking their lead, and receiving their power, from the federal government, and the people subject to all that comes down from both. Yet according to America’s founding fathers, all government power originates with the people, and government operates by the consent of the people. The people are at the top of the hierarchy, and the people comprise the states, which are next in the hierarchy, with the federal government deriving its authority only from that which is allocated as a result of the contract between the states. In other words, most Americans have this concept, at least from one who holds the perspective of the founders, upside down.

How do you, in government, reconcile the disparity of believing that ultimately the people wield the power in the country with believing that government ultimately wields the power in the country? Though many labeled “conservative” do still look too much to government for things that do not fall within government’s Constitutional authority, this is the reason for dissension between conservatives and leftists. True “conservatives” want to conserve what the founding fathers established - a weak central government dependent upon the states who derive their power from the people, all working to protect the rights and liberty of those people. Many others seek to enforce their desires on the people through a strong central government - control of business, redistribution of wealth, rules, regulations, forcing the acceptance of the unacceptable.

With just these two particular opposing views in mind, taking any of the scenarios I mentioned, if a side holding one of these views was somehow to obtain full “control,” what happens to the other side? If the conservative side wins, in order to be true to conservative values, the others must still be allowed their rights and granted their liberty, with which they will likely continue to fight against the conservatives. If the strong-government proponents win, conservatives are jailed or forced to live by a set of values contrary to the principles upon which the country was established, and they will, as rebels, continue to fight against such a situation.

In any of the cases of a “national divorce,” states espousing these antagonistic views would adjoin one another, perhaps even being trade partners. There would likely, however, exist animus between bordering states, especially with some resenting the loss of reallocated federal tax revenue from the other. Some might even erect walls for separation, much like the division between post-WWII East Germany and West Germany. There is high probability these states would perpetually be on the brink of war with one another.

If we cleaned out Congress completely (yet another scenario), and elected an entirely new Congress, would it look any different than it does now? Or would these same people, with these diametrically opposed views, elect representatives who likewise embrace these contrary positions, resulting in a Congress very similar to that which was purged?

The reality is, America is seriously fractured, and like the picture above from the 1984 movie Irreconcilable Differences, barely being held together by bandaids. How then do we heal the schism? How do we mend the country? How do we take irreconcilable differences and reconcile them? I know we have not arrived at this situation not overnight, but over decades, and there is no simple answer. I just wonder at this point if there is any answer at all, or if America really is reaching its end. I’d love to hear a more positive perspective. For now, we are a house divided, and if we remain so, we will not continue to stand.