America’s red-blue divide is like two different countries at war over everything | Opinion

Four hundred years before Christ, Plato observed that “an ordinary city is in fact two cities — one the city of the poor, and the other of the rich, each at war with the other.”

That statement rings true in every city I have inhabited, including Fresno. The differences between residing in the north of Fresno as opposed to areas in the south are distinct and disparate.

This grim contrast, writ large, is now relevant to our current situation between red states and blue states, which suggests two different countries at war over practically everything.

There is a reason that, in spite of 91 indictments, two impeachments, and staging a violent coup to overthrow the will of the voters in 2020, Donald Trump is running even with President Biden in most polls, or even slightly ahead. That such a vindictive, corrupt, power-driven man prone to violence is the choice of so many people can happen only because millions of Americans feel sufficiently aggrieved.

Some of these grievances range from illegal border crossings to guns, from race to religion, and from health care to mob violence.

Opinion

That our border with Mexico is in disarray is undeniable. Something must be done to mitigate this situation, but that “something” should not include separating children from their parents. The great majority of these immigrants are not criminals, but refugees from tyranny in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Additional border patrol personnel at the border is a dire necessity, but we must treat with civility those who have fled their homeland for a better life here.

Regarding violent crime, most liberals do not want to take away anyone’s guns, which would be an impossible task anyway, What is desired is to eliminate for sale weapons of war, including AR-15s and AK-47s, and enact laws to make it harder to purchase a gun. Background checks are essential, and those on the no-fly list, or who have a record of mental illness or have committed a felony, should not be approved for gun ownership.

With respect to race, a major grievance centers around the issue that millions of Americans feel that “people of color” are receiving special treatment at the expense of the greater white majority. The resolution of this problem must not be a return to the days of forced segregation or disenfranchisement, but revolves around better jobs in poorer communities and improved training for police officers.

The issues of race and religion intermingle among some Republicans. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia calls herself a”Christian nationalist,” and maintains that there should be no separation of church and state.

The fact is, we were never officially a Christian nation. The word “Christian” does not appear in any document composed by our founding fathers. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were both religious skeptics and George Washington was, at best, a nominal Anglican. Such talk is insulting to millions of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and atheist Americans who live here, pay taxes, obey our laws and love our country.

Greene needs to read the first 16 words of our Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Health care is another controversial issue. Trump says the Affordable Health Care Act, i.e. Obamacare, “sucks” and must be replaced. Two problems: more than 40 million people are now covered under the ACA, and the former president has never offered a plan replace it.

Then there is the issue of women’s health care in those red states in which it is nearly impossible to obtain an abortion; where the government and not the doctors make the decision that could cost the mother her life.

These and other issues have so divided us that one in four respondents to pollsters say patriotic Americans should resort to violence if necessary to obtain power, a shocking statistic. Make no mistake about it: if Trump wins, there will be violence, bloodshed and carnage in his promised acts of “retribution.”

As 19th century British Parliamentarian Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Gary Wayne Walker of Fresno lectures on history and literature at Fresno State to senior citizens, He may be reached at gwwalker61@gmail.com