Charlottesville. The Divided States of America

The forthcoming demolition of a statue of confederate general Robert E Lee in the state of Virginia has become the catalyst for the latest chapter in ongoing drama that is the divided states of America. There is barely a week goes by without the stark divisions in American political discourse washing through your television like the frothing venomous tempest it has become.
Are the events this weekend in Charlottesville really representative of the dialogue that exists between most people in their daily lives ? As an Englishman watching the dialogue between the left and right in the U.S.A at times like these some questions come to mind.

Robert E Lee

Is America still one nation?

There has always been fierce defence of long held political positions in American politics but as the country moves into an unknown future the traditional positions from left and right seem to be crystallizing into two hard line factions. Increasingly those who would identify as of the right are hostile towards ‘them’ on the left and believe they are happily selling the country down the river towards socialist, foreign, pseudo occupation.
Equally those who identify as of the left see ‘those people’ on the right as under-evolved, racist, neo- imperialists.
It seems impossible for any individual from either faction to entertain the notion that the people of the other side of the argument are acting out of the same altruistic or patriotic motivations that they themselves act through. The location of Charlottesville in Virginia is not insignificant in the latest episode of the divided states of America. Has America been as divided as this since it was actually two nations?

What is happening on college campuses?

Whatever the social and political stresses that exist today seem to be magnified and intensified on the American college campus. Young people who are exploring where their political and moral centre lies are more likely to defend their beliefs more overtly and explosively than ever before. This is accompanied more and more often with an unsettling willingness to silence voices of alternative thought.
In what is meant to be a cradle of the intellect, this behaviour is potentially leading the country down a retrogressive rabbit hole of anti-diversity of the mind.

How can things ever get better?

This is the most important question in my mind. Is the union having an existential crisis? Or is this period just a moment in history where a strong, successful America chooses its path. It is hard to see a how these two factions can ever find common ground again given that the philosophical divisions are as stark geographically judging by the results of the last presidential election.

What must NOT be done

Censor anyone
As odious and unpalatable as views on the other side may be to an individual it will never be as despicable as trying to silence those voices. The correct responses to opinions you disagree with should be to either offer a cogent counter argument or to ignore them. Even if one side was successful in silencing opposition it would not be a solution. It would merely push the division and hate under the skin until events inevitably bring them spurting to the surface again.

Tolerate violence
As soon as anyone commits an act of violence in the name of any cause it should immediately invalidate their right to have those views listened to and respected. It is not incumbent on the side of the argument that the attacker aligns themselves with to condemn the act. The act is tacitly condemned universally. The person who commits acts of violence is not a true participant in the debate anyway. Battles should be fought and won in the minds of individuals and groups through dialogue. An important debate should be wide and vociferous but it should be just that, a debate.

I have no political affiliation and no agenda other that the defence of free speech and expression. I know that the USA has deep rooted issues that a Brit like me will never truly understand.
Charlottesville won’t be the last time the two sides of the divided states of America lock horns. What has yet to be decided is if the nation can deal with these flash points in a constructive way or walk further down the road towards an untenable union.