On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered one of his most revered speeches of his life. At 5:00 P.M., among more than 1,000 delegates, Lincoln cited one of the most famous lines ever to be delivered. Lincoln, tall and burley, stood up addressed the crowd and said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Boy, was he right.
The cultural divide in America has always been prevalent. Although the lines may be blurred from time to time, the fundamental differences in opinion and lifestyle have always been apparent. The North vs. the South. Liberals vs. Conservatives. That is why it is of no surprise that Lincoln spoke the words he did. All his life he witnessed this differing of opinions. The Northerners, who believed every man should be free, were primarily immigrants. In fact, according to professor of American history at Yale, David Blight, nearly a third of the entire Union Forces were foreign born. The Southerners, on the other hand, were a completely different breed. The Confederates were made up primarily of farmers (60 percent came from farms). They were farmers who held honor and family in the highest regard. They were territorial, aggressive and relied heavily on slave labor. It was because of these conflicting ways of life and ideals that the North was consistently at odds with the South. It was Lincoln’s dream to unite the North and South so that the country would “become all one thing or all the other.” At the end of the American civil war in 1865, the victorious North solidified and fulfilled the dreams of Lincoln. However, his dream to unite a country of opposites may have been too idealistic. How can we say this? Well all you have to do is tune in to CNN and it is a clear as day.
Republican and Democratic primary candidates for the presidency in 2016 are speaking entirely different languages. It is evident each and every time I tune into CNN to watch a Republican or a Democratic debate. The environments fostered by each are completely different. When I sit down on the couch and turn on the Democratic debates I feel engaged. Candidates Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders civilly debate real world issues like human-induced climate change, the corrupt American campaign finance system, income inequality and real immigration reform (not some nonsense about a wall). The candidates are respectful of the issues and of each other and it is refreshing.
On the other hand when I sit down on the couch and turn on a Republican debate I feel like I am watching a reality television show. The candidate’s remarks are bigoted and benign. They use hateful and violent rhetoric about illegal “aliens” and Muslims to echo some of the feelings of 21st century Americans. I am baffled at how the conservative party has mastered dog-whistle politics. The candidates are territorial, aggressive, and prideful. The candidates insult each other incessantly and the crowds love it. Debate viewership is at an all time high. Just the other night I was watching a Fox News debate and two of the candidates, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump, were insulting each other about penis size. Are you kidding me? Some credit this frenzy all to businessman and current frontrunner Donald Trump. Although Donald Trump has been fueling the fire of hatred, hubris and hysteria, he did not start the flame. The flame, which has been flickering since 1865, has been burning for years and it is only a matter of time before the flame becomes a roaring fire.
The differences in liberal and conservative rhetoric in the 2016 primaries have been astounding. It is as if we are watching Americans in two alternate universes. In a way, the left and the right are from different universes. What each establishment envisions for the future of America is so different that it reminds me of the civil war era. Although the North and South made up the United States of America, they had different ideals and saluted different flags. I see no difference in 21st century America. Although conservatives and liberals share the same flag, the way they see the stars and stripes are fundamentally different and it is as noticeable as ever.
