Are we in a unique era where all the different beliefs and policy positions between our two opposing political ideologies (liberal and conservative) are truly irreconcilable?
Ideological differences inside and outside of government have existed since the founding of the country. The terms Democrat and Republican didn’t exist back then, but the same concepts were descriptively referred to as Federalists (who wanted most of the governing power in a strong and large federal government) and Anti-Federalists (who wanted most of the governing power in state governments with a smaller federal role).
For the first 70+ years of the country’s existence, those opposing views persisted and ultimately gave birth to the Democrat and Republican parties. Since the government didn’t fall apart during that time, it must be assumed that there was always some degree of reconciliation between the two in order to maintain the basic structure of government and respect for the laws it created.
In 1861 however, the issue of slavery had become truly irreconcilable, and the country reached a breaking point. The Civil War was fought over the moral barbarism of slavery. It was also fought over the sovereignty of individual states to make their own decision about slavery versus the power of the federal government to end the practice for the entire nation. That is the same old federalist vs. anti-federalist disagreement that was present when the Constitution was signed. In this case, the only way that difference was resolved was with a war that cost over 600,000 lives.
Since then, up to and including today, there has not been an irreconcilable difference of that magnitude on any individual issue. Not even close.
The situation today is better characterized as a collection of divergent belief systems, each of which has its own distinct set of passionate adherents. Examples include abortion, climate change, the push for men to play in women’s sports, and illegal immigration. Within each of these issues, the mindsets are so disparate (and sometimes violent) it seems like several micro-scale civil wars are being waged at once. However, at the national level, a compromise solution usually evolves and is honored (if scornfully) by both sides.
For example, abortion advocates believe life begins at birth, but their pro-life opponents believe life begins at conception. That’s an irreconcilable difference. But the federal government has decided that each state is free to adopt either one of those positions, or something in the middle (e.g. legal abortions up to 15 weeks). Thus, while the ideological dispute remains unresolved, the implication for the country is not dire, since you can move to a state that matches your beliefs on abortion.
There is one big irreconcilable difference in our country today that has nothing to do with a particular policy or issue. It is Donald Trump himself. Liberals and progressives who have fallen victim to “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS) irrationally oppose everything Trump says or does. It doesn’t matter what the specific issue of the moment is.1 The real-life effect of TDS for these people is that anything connected to Trump, even remotely, becomes an irreconcilable difference with anyone who supports Trump’s policies. One day it is his support for Israel, the next is his crackdown on crime, then his efforts to decrease government waste, or his efforts to deport illegal aliens. The list goes on and on.
As was evident from the election result last November, hatred and opposition to Trump does not fall along a geographical boundary or even along a demographic boundary. Therefore, a civil war like in 1861 is very unlikely since the would-be combatants are intermingled throughout the country and aren’t easy to physically identify. There aren’t blue and red uniforms as there were 164 years ago.
However, there are factions today who have committed themselves to their cause in aggressive and violent attacks on federal officers and facilities in cities like Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Worse, a few have shockingly demonstrated their hate by twice attempting to assassinate Trump, attempting to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and assassinating Charlie Kirk. All for ideological reasons.
Can we reconcile today’s ideological differences? We don’t think so. The fundamental belief system and moral compass of each side are too diametrically opposed. Also, rather than participating in intellectual debate, one side (liberal/progressive) is given to shouting, protesting, and violence as their preferred form of engagement. When they do take a stance, most often in opposition to something Trump has said, the result can be comical. They commit themselves to championing ridiculous positions that are the antithesis of whatever Trump wants (e.g. tolerating crime continuing unabated in their cities by refusing federal help). The country will survive, despite our differences. We survived the Civil War, the greatest test ever of our governing model, and we will get past the divisiveness of the present. The country has leaned in a very progressive direction for some time. What we are experiencing now are political and cultural forces realigning back to the right.
1There is even a group with the name “The Coalition Against the Trump Agenda” (CATA) protesting in Chicago.