The Choice We Face: Civil War or Civilization?

All of us have noticed a sharp decline in political discourse. It started off with smear and vulgarity replacing the discussion of ideas and policies. Campaigns and debates have degenerated into tearing down the other candidate(s) rather than telling the people why they should support our policies and ideas. It is now about talking points and creating bogeymen, rather than honest examination of pros and cons, and now it always involves schoolyard behaviour such as name calling, and even threats to punch each other out. I am even sorrier to say that this type of behaviour is practiced by almost all parties. Certainly all the major ones. Now, however, in recent elections we have now hit new lows. Politicians are now attacking not only their opponents, but are now going after their opponents supporters. We the voter used to be off limits. It was left to us to decide which candidates we would support, or as the case may be hold our noses to vote for. It really stated becoming apparent around 2008 when one candidate for the US Presidency piled supporters of another together as a bunch of rubes who clung to their guns and their Bibles. Then there was the "Basket of deplorables and irredeemables" and since then it has only gotten worse since then , to the point where now , office holders - people who have actual power- are posting videos warning supporters of another party to shut up, or else. It is not the first time things have been said that may potentially incite violence against one particular group of people based on their political leanings, nor will it be the last, but here are some of the larger ramifications that it may have on the body politic. it further galvanizes an electorate which is now by and large, divided into two opposing camps with a handful of us in the middle who want no part in this. The division above further turns our political system into something where it becomes not a matter of winning hearts and minds , but of getting the vote out BY ANY MEANS NECCESSARY. If and when extreme measures are used, including fraud and cheating to win, this kind of division encourages one side to completely excuse behaviour they would find deplorable under any other circumstance, because it produced the result they wanted, which is not electing someone they believe will serve the interests of the nation but who is simply not the one they have come to hate... yes, hate. That is what I see going on. Hate is a very effective tool in terms of motivating people to do what you want them to do, or to deflect their attention to something else other than the fat that their Emperor really has no clothes. Orwell used "The Two Minutes hate" in "1984 to illustrate how easy it can be to direct the popular energy toward something else, most often imaginary and off of what you are doing. As a result, candidates no longer seek to win new votes and persuade those in the middle (of which there are fewer and fewer due to the kind of manipulation outlined above) but to get their vote out, and suppress the voters on the other side. This is a dangerous place to be, and a sign of a fast advancing cancer on Democracy itself that is on the verge of metastasizing and becoming terminal if it hasn't already. When politicians and parties start pitting their supporters and the supporters of the other party, it produces a situation which divides friends and families against each other. and could result in civil war. Anyone who understands history will tell you that civil wars are the most brutal and bloody of all. As a microcosm, there is no call a police officer hates responding to than a domestic dispute. Another by product of the decomposition of civility and basic civics is that due to the the nature of the beast the political system has become, good people no longer wish to seek office, leaving the field open to thugs, operatives and unscrupulous, ambitious individuals. Who wants to be dragged through the mud and have every embarrassing detail of their past exposed in public for all to see? What's worse is that many voters disengage, not only in disgust over politicians' behaviour, but out of fear that they themselves will be doxxed and publicly humiliated, or even be placed in physical danger for expressing themselves. Only we the voter can put a stop to this. It is going to take courage, and a thick skin, because standing up to these dark forces on either side is going to bring repercussions. but the choice is between accepting the same caliber of public officials we have been getting, and the cabal of thugs that bring them to power and whose job it is to keep them there, or to shake ourselves free of them and strip them of their power by voting for men and women of integrity and civility who have the best interests of the citizens and the country at heart, and will not be penned in by ideology. Yes, they must be principled, but part of being principled means thinking and discerning things for themselves, and choosing the right thing to do even if it means going off the proverbial reservation. Above all we must not allow ourselves to be recruited into factions and manipulated to serving the interests of politicians. It needs to be the other way around where politicians must answer to the people. One path leads to civil war, the other to Civilization.