Guns, hatred and insanity
Everyone is talking about who will win the elections in the United States. What they’re not talking about as much as they should is what will happen in America after the elections, especially if the result is very close. There are many signs on the horizon telling us that we cannot rule anything out, not even some form of civil war or states looking to secede because they do not accept the outcome.
Up until 2020, such scenarios appeared over-the-top, even the stuff of fiction. After the storming of Congress of January 6, 2021, and the two recent assassination attempts against Donald Trump, however, such scenarios are the subject of serious discussion in closed circles in the US, but also outside of them.
The support enjoyed by the former president cannot be explained in the typical terms of political analysis. More like a “movement,” it has even been described as a “force of nature.” People who attended the Republican National Convention in July described scenes reminiscent of a sect. What’s more, the factors that led to the Trump “tsunami” also run deep and have not been addressed, such as the enormous pressure on the middle class, reactions to “woke” excesses and the anger of “white America,” which feels it is losing its position as the majority.
The polarization in America right now is without precedent and leaves no room for consensus or compromise; there is no common American narrative (or dream) anymore; there is not even some respected establishment to hold the country back from the abyss.
And then there are the guns.
It may seem crazy here in Europe, but in many parts of the United States, citizens can purchase an automatic rifle from their local supermarket. Widespread gun ownership and use has always been a feature of American society, but it has become that much more dangerous in this age of unfettered hatred and toxicity. One of the most alarming things I read recently is that white, male Republicans are no longer the top buyers. Even left-wing Democrats are rushing to arm themselves as they feel threatened by the rising polarization and rhetoric of hate.
America is a country with a lot of guns, a lot of fanatics, a lot of hate and a lot of lunatics. The latter are no longer restricted to one ideological camp; social media gives them all the scope they want to find their pet conspiracy theory and meaning of life. And with such an explosive mix, all it takes to set it off is one person to light a match.
No one living in the West wants to see America descend into a dystopia. But a lot of what has been going on there in the past few years has been an unpleasant shock – and it appears to be relentless.
