Schism

We have two America’s today. Scan Facebook and the media if you don’t believe me. Rhetoric is loud and plentiful. Difference of opinion screamed for all to hear. Point by point someone’s upset is laid out over and over again. By a lot of people. That includes me. This blog is a ready example.

How many millions of blogs are there? What outrage gave each their birth?  Will they last? Will more voices come to life? Who will be heard? What new thoughts will be added to the public stew?

And will the discourse revolve around new and stronger themes? Will these themes combine into a movement? Will strength come from this movement and provide leadership for others? Will a new way of seeing our nation emerge from all of this? Will it embrace enough people to create a fresh majority? One that will re-order our nation at war with itself?

A nation at war with itself. A divide among American citizens is evident. Where this will go is open to discussion. But change is here for certain. Just how big and elemental it will prove to be remains unknown.

I’ve written here recently that I sensed a shift coming. I feel opinion is coalescing against Trump. I still think this is true but that shift is not yet strong enough to force the new White House to retract recent actions.

Today’s news indicates Trump has issued soft messages on foreign policy indicating he will challenge Netanyahu on new settlement construction as ‘not helpful’ in working toward peace. He has also back peddled a bit on his earlier campaign rhetoric attacking President Obama’s foreign policy positions. UN statements by Trump’s new UN Ambassador suggest a stronger position opposing Putin’s harsh stand in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. North Korea’s bombastic threats also have been met with stern opposition by Trump’s emissary. And then there is Iran and its ballistic missile test. Trump now claims Iran is ‘on notice’ for the test and promises consequences.

I find these messages promising. They are soft inasmuch as they contain no hard actions to support them. Time will tell if such are forthcoming. But the job of governing is a role that demands 24/7/365 attention. Thinking through all the ramifications this kind of work requires is daunting both for the person in the presidency as well as support staff. Life is more complicated in the White House than on the campaign trail.

The wall is another point. Building the border wall separating the US from Mexico is not a quick process. Land owners must agree that their land can be used for this purpose. If not, lengthy court proceedings will be engaged. Even the principle of eminent domain is not a fast track decision to be made and implemented. It is lengthy and complicated precisely because it protects the rights of ownership. Even the most conservative mind in the US pales when the term ‘eminent domain’ is uttered. Those words are sacred.

Still Trump continues to roil political waters. He now claims he will loosen restrictions on the separation of church and state and encourage religious institutions freedom to engage in political demagoguery. That will distract millions of faithful on both sides of many issues. All are divisive. All are reminiscent of the campaign trail. Will this become a symbol of the Trump regime – endless distraction?

Trump continues to assault the role of regulation in banking and commerce. He seems to forget that regulation saved the nation from countless depressions and mended the most serious recession. Removing regulation only serves the power of greed. It also threatens instability of the economy itself.

Maybe the distractions will boomerang? Will the public stir from its civic slumber enough to act against these distractions? And if it does, will that public stay engaged long enough to help define for the long term what it wants from its government?

Are we a nation of big and bold government? Or of weak and small? Who operates either model? How are both to be checked and balanced with public will? How stable is that will?

Indeed, how deep is our divide? How great is our schism one from another?

Does anyone know?

February 3, 2017