Civil War?

Recently I’ve seen a lot of articles in national publications speculating on the possibility of a US civil war. The country is so divided that there’s speculation that any number of events could set off massive civil unrest.

My initial response is discount the threat. The demographics of that sort of thing don’t make any sense to me. Where would the dividing lines be? During the war between the North and the South the battle lines were clear. Things are muddier now.

Would you go with Red State VS Blue State? Urban Vs Rural? Conservative Vs Liberal? I see problems with any of those line ups. What about “Purple States?” There are a number of states that are so evenly split that they could go either way in any election. Cities tend to be more Liberal than the country. However, even that’s just a generalization. There are places in the Vermont countryside that are liberal and Conservative cities in Texas.

Then there’s the fact that older people tend to be more conservative than younger people. Do you expect parents to fight their kids? I don’t. Not in any great number at least.

Race war? Nope. Just don’t see it. There’s plenty of race tension, but it appears to lessen with each generation. I doubt there’s the numbers and the organization to make it happen.

I don’t really expect a full blown revolution. On the other hand, that doesn’t mean I don’t see the possibility of serious civil unrest. Individuals, groups and small regions could suffer severe localized problems. It doesn’t matter to you if the whole country is in revolt. If there’s burning and shooting in your neighborhood that’s all that matters.

In general, however, I don’t expect a full blown civil war. Most people will complain on Facebook rather than take up arms.

-Sixbears