By: John Carbone
On January 6th, 2020 at least 10,000 rioters showed up at the US capital building with the intent to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from former president Donald Trump to current president Joe Biden claiming that the election was stolen by president Biden. This insurrection caused the deaths of 5 people including civilians and police. This event is the epitome of why the plans and hopes our founding fathers erected for this country have been crushed by modern society, and the divisions which this country faces today.
When America was birthed after revolting against the rule of Great Britain our first leaders created their goals and intentions for the country’s future. They created the politics this country would run on and the idea of political parties with the intent that citizens would vote to elect their presidents and government representatives. Furthermore, they set up 4 year terms for presidents and set a rule that no president could serve more than 2 terms in office. Our founding fathers made these rules so that everyone could have a say and to prevent the problem of division.
I’ve heard a quote once before which went something along the lines of “a country’s biggest threat is its own people”. This idea of two political parties has not brought the country together and bonded but instead has separated us and created hatred for our fellow countrymen. Division had been a major threat to this country before to the point where in 1860-1861, 11 states seceded from the Union forming the Confederate States of America causing a civil war. Today the United States are as close to a civil war as they were back then. Different people who support different ideas clash very often, as we saw with the January 6th insurrection where pro-Trump supporters, who most refer to as extremists, stormed the capital. This division between our countrymen was the very same division which we saw during the outbreak of the Civil War and generally, this division likely will separate our country again.
A lot of people claim to fight for rights of the average American but, just as plenty of other arguments in this world today, this original view is shadowed by extremists who believe that their opinions matter much more than anyone else’s. These extremists in these groups claim to support the main view their side represents but they really strive away from the main point which is the betterment of society for the average man or woman. What they really do is hunt out those who support the other side and ridicule them which causes even more hatred not ending any conflicts, in fact, they are only starting more. No society will flourish unless humans learn to accept others’ views. People need to learn to accept defeat and know that their opinion is just as valuable as the next person’s. People who claim to fight for the rights of all Americans and equality think that their method on how they think this could happen matters more than others’ do. Politicians need to learn how compromises could be made to cater to these people’s ideas and they must agree more often on the betterment of life in this country no matter their party or allegiances.
An example of how extremists have caused conflicts is the murder of a black man named George Floyd on May 25th, 2020. Police Officer Derek Chauvin brutally murdered Floyd after being called to a report of Floyd using a fake $20 bill to pay for cigarettes in an act of racism. This is a prime example of how people who believe that police officers deserve respect for their bravery and courage in the face of danger are believed to be racist because some officers have committed horrendous crimes. Another example is the riots which followed this event where some people who were against Chauvin’s actions and claimed to support the black lives matter movement, which sought to end racism towards black men and women, went on riots across the country and rampaged buildings and streets costing thousands of dollars in repairs and overall causing havoc.
Combined, these all prove that the division between the people of America is a serious problem and that the downfall of this country has already started. Citizens in this country need to understand that we need to accept others’ differences and views on the world and hate will only lead to more hate; that love and acceptance is the only thing which can stop hatred.
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