America after our Second Civil War

By Thomas Romano

The Republican and Democratic parties in our country are no longer capable of compromise. In fact, they can't even be civil to each other. The country has already been split up into red and blue states. I see this division worsening. My fear is that after the 2024 presidential election, the results will not be accepted. At which point we break up the Union, which has held together for 235 years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667886985

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America After Our Second Civil War

Introduction

    The country is going to hell in a handbasket. Our current divisiveness equals what it was like in 1860 when South Carolina seceded from the Union. I believe that we have crossed that precipice. I wish it was not so. I am reminded of a quote from President Kennedy Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future. That is no longer possible because no one is talking meaningfully in Washington, D.C. No one is willing to compromise. No one is willing to listen. As Rodney King said, Why can’t we all get along? It really should be that simple. The reference to Rodney King was deliberate. The issue of slavery clearly was a major cause of the first Civil War. Racism, which worsened after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, started a process which is leading us into the second Civil War (along with many other causes). Racism It is not the only reason, but it contributes mightily to the discord in our country. Ben Hughes wrote the book, When I Die, I Shall Return to My Own Land, describing the New York City slave revolt of 1712. I never knew, and I suspect most Americans never knew, that there were 11 slaves on Manhattan Island as early as 1626. That is just two years after the Dutch first settled Manhattan! Clearly those slaves were not needed to pick cotton. It is not clear to me why slaves were necessary in 1626. Who could have guessed that 400 years later the greatest representative democracy of all time would be brought down by slavery issues (as well as others). I always thought that it was in the southern states where slavery first took hold. Although that does not justify slavery, I can understand that sentiment in 1700. That sentiment is no longer valid today. The southern economy was agriculturally based. There appears to be an inborn tendency (need) for some men to enslave others they perceive to be inferior. Certainly, the Nazis are the worst example of that. The Black Lives Matter movement I hope can breach the differences from what I will call The Red States of America from The Blue States of America. My fear is it is too late. I will list the Red States of America (RSA) and the Blue States of America (BSA) in Chapter 2. It roughly splits between Republicans and Democrats.

    Our country was the most unified in our history following World War II. There was unprecedented prosperity. It felt like, as a nation, we could certainly diminish racism. Our economy in the fifties was booming. America had 5 % of the world’s population, and yet managed to produce 50 % of the gross world product (output of goods and services). By way of comparison, that number today is 22 %. Our productivity has been cut in half (relative to rest of world). This reduction in productivity has very definitely diminished our standard of living. The decrease in the quality of our lives can be attributed somewhat to our decrease in productivity. The inequality of wealth also contributes significantly to the civil strife we are currently experiencing. President Lyndon Johnson passed the War on Poverty program in 1964. It seemed like the standard of living did improve significantly for African Americans, for the next 20-30 years. We certainly could use another War on Poverty now. It seems like most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. The American Dream has become a nightmare. The median home price in Orange County, California, is 1 million dollars (as of this writing June 1, 2022). I am a doctor, and I cannot afford that mortgage payment. Unfortunately, the assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy started our descent into the maelstrom. We lost our compass as a nation. Clearly much divisiveness began with the Vietnam War as well.  I believe that the demise of our country started in the late nineteen sixties. I also feel that our intolerance to others viewed as different has progressed since then. We all got along so much better during World War II. We were united. We had a common goal. Everyone agrees that we are not united now as a country. Indeed, we are no longer the United