Near the end of Ken Burns’ epic documentary on the Civil War there is a scene which catches the viewer by surprise and produces a torrent of emotion. After hours of storytelling illustrated only by pictures and interviews with commentators, suddenly there is some actual grainy video footage taken at a reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg many years later. Re-enacting Pickett’s Charge, a group of ancient grey-bearded men resemble kids playing in a field, enjoying the horrible glory their hatred for each other created. Now, many decades later they shared a bond only those with a personal knowledge of life’s most desperate moments can understand. The “charge” lasts only a couple minutes as exhausted old foes collapse into each other with hugs and affection. An indelible image for the ages.
One would prefer to believe southern survivors of a reckless battle strategy, educated by the wisdom staying alive teaches, fully comprehended the common humanity their collective exposure to war’s trials forced upon them, strong enough to consume what in retrospect they could view as self-destructive resentments. Yet and still, the tug of war’s glory, and the salve time applies to both emotional and physical wounds, makes it uncertain how they would respond to the simple question of “was it really worth it?” Most rebels had no skin in the game for slavery, in fact, the southern slave economy created a skewed labor structure that surely cost hard working whites income; after all, how can you compete against free? But at the end of the day, the grotesque adage “if you ain’t better than a n*****, who are you better than” subsumed logic and fed sedition, nobody was going to tell them who to treat as a fellow human being.
Fact is, despite the hindsight a lifetime of living provided, the rhetoric responsible for the conflict impacts history’s assessment of it and often furthers an impotent judgement, even for those most directly affected. Union men fought to preserve the nation secession imperiled. Rebs fought to preserve a way of life the North was intent on destroying. What choice did either have? Forget that industrialization was going to end slavery anyway, or that Republicans were only adamant about preventing its spread to western territories, and Lincoln was prepared to do most anything necessary to placate secessionists. Passions rarely bow to facts, and what they produce most often renders why they were stirred meaningless. Once they begin to carry the day, events become increasingly more difficult to control. Spectators were having picnics at the edge of battlefields as the conflict began, by the battle of Cold Harbor, three years later, thousands were dead within half an hour. What most thought would be over within a month or two, morphed into enduring calamity. Wars are like fires; once fed enough, they become impossible to control.
Today in America our President, fully abided by the GOP shaped to his liking, foments civil war without much thought to its consequences. Trump, like secessionists 160 years ago, relies on a victimology narrative to define his own fate as synonymous with that of the nation; he’s a martyr in the making. Should he fall to the tyranny of a deep state coup, all hope will be lost, markets will tumble, immigrant hordes will storm the southern border, and the US will generally collapse into lawless anarchy. Impeachment or even electoral defeat in 2020 equals ruin.
Of course, anybody who wants a good chuckle, before they sob, should read the speeches by various antebellum southern lawmakers intent on secession and compare them to Trump tweets and verbal blusterings. Henry Lewis Benning may have been a racist traitor, but he did at least offer complete sentences:
“ … It follows that there is not within the Union any remedy by which we can escape abolition, and therefore if we wish for a remedy, a remedy we must seek outside the Union. … I say that a separation from the North would be a complete remedy for the disease.”
Today’s nihilist discontents set the bar very low indeed for nourishing their sedition with oratory. Trump’s tweets have trouble even qualifying as legible screeds. It’s a certainty old Jeff Davis wouldn’t allow the Donald onto his doorstep. But make no mistake, Trump delivers the goods on a near hourly basis to unhinged malcontents. Whether it’s libeling Joe Biden or retweeting American Taliban Robert Jeffress’ declaration that impeachment will result in civil war, labeling freshman Democratic congresswomen as Stalinist wannabes or the press as “the enemy of the people,” this President leaves little to the imagination as to what road he’s chosen as impeachment heats up. The only question that appears to still be unanswered is whether America is ready to get the ball rolling. Can we even imagine what civil war would look like?
Adam Kinzinger, an otherwise reliable House GOP Trump appendage from Illinois, knows something of what civil conflict can do to a country. An Air Force pilot with several tours of Iraq to inform him, Kinzinger made clear there is nothing good about it as he took Trump to task for waxing seditious. “I have visited nations ravaged by civil war,” the veteran asserted, “I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant.” It appears Kinzinger’s criticism will have to do as far as GOP lawmakers go, literally nobody else from either chamber had a thing to say about a POTUS fomenting bloodshed.
But what of the good guys in this national dissolution? We can see hourly evidence that Trump and his wretched core are fully radicalized, capable of ruining America’s good thing. What are we willing to abide before our patience has been exhausted and pitchforks look appealing? Four more years of Trump is unfathomable. After W beat John Kerry back in 2004, he smugly held forth on his new mandate. “I’ve got political capital,” Bush declared, “and I plan to use it.” How do we suppose Trump will digest a new term? Like all other nasty people, and he’s the nastiest, the only thing worse than Trump losing is Trump winning. Any other job in the world and our President wouldn’t have lasted a week. Chewing through a $500 million inheritance and President of the United States are the only two positions he’s been capable of keeping, and after three years of his worst, the US may re-sign him. Go figure.
What kind of blows will round two of Trump deliver? Well, millions of undocumented people will rightly fear deportations to countries they are no more familiar with than I am with Ireland. Round ups may very well go into high gear with daily images of cruelty and heartache. Bigotry as legitimate political thought will become the norm. Allies will immediately move to abandon us, no longer willing to wait out our civic madness. Climate Change initiatives will suffer full American opposition. The US will become isolated on all international fronts. The able government careerists who also tried to outlast Trumpism will leave or be purged, precipitating and across-the-board competence crisis here at home. RBG will step down from the Supreme Court, replaced by another young Trumpie. Steven Breyer is not getting any younger; if he were to retire it would be 7-2. Nuff said there. The list is as long as it is horrifying, but the worst thing of all will be an unquestionable desertion of the rule of law Trump’s re-election will consummate. No doubt Trump will be emboldened to ad lib his second Inauguration speech with rally gibberish, but this time there will be no speculation of hopeful “best case scenarios” for his approach to decision making.
The Chuck Todds and Amy Walters of the world enjoy viewing Trumpism as a game, imbuing his constant meltdowns and GOP servility to him as simply one side of Decision 2020’s discussion. Some of us are quite certain this is no game, Trumpism – defined as the all out fight for his rabid political survival and overt corruption – is totalitarian in nature and knows no limits to the means justified to achieving its ends. That’s not alarmist, it’s simply diligent observation. If civil war requires two to tango, it’s now certain one of the partners is ready to boogie. What the rest of us should at least begin to consider is what it will take to get us on the dance floor. BC
you always make me think…TY for that! Your writing is just incredible!