Premature Premonitions of Civil War?

Portland, Oregon; 2021

 William Sullivan  "Anyone paying attention knows that America is fast polarizing to become two distinct factions. One is comprised of the coastal blue states commanded by dictators, for whom concepts like individual liberty are just speed bumps on the way to their newfangled visions of progress, and the other is largely made up of the red states in America’s heartland and Southeast, where leaders still generally fear the electoral consequences of putting their boots on their constituents’ throats.

"The latter faction’s ultimate victory in the war of ideas is the only chance we have of maintaining anything that resembles the American ideal, but that chance seems to be vanishing quickly as the blue states are consolidating their current ascendency to bring blue state authoritarianism to the red states via international corporate power, social conformity campaigns, and federal tyranny in Washington, including executive edicts, unconstitutional legislation, and threats to subvert the judiciary.

"It’s no wonder, you might say, that roughly two-out-of-three Republicans are open to the idea of secession, according to some polls. So, are we heading toward civil war, as many have openly asserted in recent years? And if so, what can we learn from the last one to inform us about the nature of today’s crisis? Looked at closely, there are important differences.

"The media would have us believe that the blue states are the modern analogs of the free states in 1860, and the red states are the modern analogs of the secessionist slave states. And yet, this dynamic has existed almost entirely in the inverse for some time.". . .