The Divided States of America

The evening of the Kavanaugh hearing, I “surfed” the channels to get the news. All I could find was the hearing or commentary on it. I finally turned off the TV. It made me sick.

The hearing confirmed to me that America is more divided than ever. It was not just his word vs. her word. It was “my guy vs. your guy.” No compromise, no middle ground — just smash mouth football. I decided to tune it out.

No compromise, no middle ground — just smash mouth football.  I decided to tune it out.

It can make you depressed but, in the long view, we have to face the fact that divided politics in America is a large part of our history. Right after a tremendous moment of national unity during the Second World War, the country descended into McCarthyism with conspiracy theorists finding communists in every corner of the government. After our most divisive conflict, the Civil War, the country really didn’t heal as one. It split apart again over the policies of reconstructing the Confederate States. As for my growing-up years, I was a Vietnam Veteran — one of the most contentious and divisive times in our history.

Is today’s division worse? Probably not, but it feels worse because of the magnified impact delivered by our multi-dimensional media, accentuated by tweeting from the White House (which I think should be banned for anyone who becomes President). When you get hammered with something like the Kavanaugh Hearing it comes at you in print, on the screen, on the radio and through your smart phone. It feels like a deluge that will sweep you away.

I honestly don’t think there are any real winners in the kind of spectacle we saw in the Kavanaugh hearing. The accuser comes to the table quite late in the process and questions linger as to her timing in coming forth. The accused, Judge Kavanaugh, responds in an angry diatribe against the system implying that the deck is stacked against him. The last thing he seems to have in his response is judicial temperament. The bewildered country looks on the whole process as a sort of “one-shot” soap opera. 

The losers are many starting with the country as whole.

The losers are many starting with the country as whole. The U.S. Senate no longer looks like one of the great deliberative bodies in the world. The Supreme Court itself is becoming more polarized and losing its credibility as a fair arbiter in the major issues facing the country.

National unity remains an aspiration in our politics, not a reality. If there is any historical perspective to this moment, it does give credence to our long-standing reputation as being the “Divided States of America.” 

Rolland Kidder 

This article first appeared in The Post-Journal on October 14, 2018