A Nation Divided

Abraham Lincoln once famously said, "A nation divided against itself cannot stand."

These seven words have seldom had greater importance than at the current time in our country's history. I have been around for more than six decades, and never have I seen this country as divided as it is now. Just think about it. America is divided over the economy, race, gender, and a variety of social issues. Can and will this country overcome these vast divides and come together again for the survival of the nation? Only time will tell.

We have, of course, Republicans versus Democrats.

But we also have

• liberals vs conservatives 
• urban vs rural 
• red states vs blue states
• straight vs gay 
• rich (the 1 percent) vs middle class and poor 
• white men against those who threaten their longstanding dominion, i.e., women and minorities
• those who believe in science vs science deniers 
• climate change believers vs deniers 
• Christian fundamentalists vs those who believe in separation of church and state
• gun law reform advocates vs Second Amendment apologists
• pro-life vs pro-choice advocates
• men vs women
• baby boomers vs millennials

First, let me make clear that not all of the individuals in a given population feel/think/act/vote the same as other members of that group. There are, for example, straight people (the majority, I venture) who feel that members of the LGBTQ community should have the same rights as straight people. Similarly, not everyone who lives in the South shares the same political feelings, or opposes gun law reform or is an evangelical.

What concerns me, in addition to the massive polarization of the country, are attempts by some to force their beliefs on others. If you're an evangelical Christian, great! But don't try to force the rest of us to live according to your beliefs. You don't like it when radical Muslims impose their beliefs on others, so why do you think it's OK for you to try to force me to live according to your beliefs?

The same argument can be made for either side in any debate. You live your life, and let the rest of us live ours. America is not, and never has been, a Christian country. It was founded to allow its citizens freedom to practice whichever religions they choose. Yes, this country traditionally has had a Christian majority, but we are not a Christian country. We have freedom of religion, but we also should have freedom from religion. There should be no state-sponsored religion, a point about which our founding fathers felt strongly enough to include it in the US Constitution.

There seems to be little effort being put forth to try to find compromise or middle ground among both politicians and everyday citizens. Compromise is an absolute for people living in a society. Why are baby boomers and millenials sniping at each other? Both groups have much to offer this country, from their experiences to their youthful energy and ideas. Name calling and insults seem to be the order of the day. And it certainly doesn't help when the president of the United States engages in a steady stream of daily insults and name calling.

I am hopeful, but not optimistic, that our citizens and politicians will come to their senses and work together to find common ground. We  as a nation have many issues that deserve our attention. Fighting with each other will not help solve them. We must ask ourselves how we have reached this point in our history. How have we sunk so low that partisan politics and a growing divide have brought us to the brink of destroying our nation? And just as important, what are we going to do about it?