Harris, Trump, and America's deepening rift
At the risk of sounding alarmist, the ideological chasm exemplified by the current presidential candidates threatens to push a demoralized America ever closer to societal collapse.
With the election just weeks away, America finds itself deeply divided between two highly polarizing candidates. Both Harris and Trump symbolize the profound ideological gulf in the country, and there is little indication either will help us bridge that gap. In fact, many fear that America will lose regardless of who wins the race. The divisions between us will only get worse, pushing the country further into political, social, and institutional fragmentation.
Nothing shows this more clearly than the results of a Gallup poll released yesterday, which found a record-high 80% of the adults polled believe America is deeply split on the country’s most important core values.
Yes, it does seems obvious.
Nevertheless, this poll sounds the alarm on an untenable future, largely attributable to an ideological rift that’s been building for decades. And, it affects all demographics, regardless of race, age, or political identity.
Gallup says:
In the past three decades, only after 9/11 did Americans perceive that they were united on the most important values. The terrorist attacks led to a surge in patriotism and Americans rallying around their political leaders and institutions.
Now, with national pride, trust in government and confidence in U.S. institutions near record lows, Americans see national unity in starkly different terms. These perceptions of greater U.S. division over the past 20 years have occurred throughout both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations and strong and weak national economies. They have also persisted through national crises, triumphs and tragedies that had the potential to unite the nation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the capture of Osama bin Laden, and school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Uvalde, Texas.
Think about that for a second. Even a pandemic couldn’t bring us together to fight a common enemy. In fact, it drove us deeper into our trenches. If we can’t unite to battle an invisible pathogen, what will we do when we’re forced to defend our borders from belligerents and invaders?
All this is playing out just as Yuri Bezmenov warned it would. The former KGB agent, who defected to the West, informed us in a landmark 1984 interview with G. Edward Griffin about the Soviet psychological warfare tactic of "demoralization." He said this would be the first step in a long-term subversion strategy aimed at weakening us from within. The process could take 15 to 20 years (or longer), he said, after which a society’s values, beliefs, and institutions would be diminished or fully sabotaged.
Ultimately, the goal of demoralization is to create confusion and division within a country so people can no longer discern truth from propaganda or have faith in their societal structures. Sound familiar?
Here’s how Bezmenov said we would know if the demoralization process was successful:
Values would be eroded: Traditional moral values, family structure, religion, and trust in leadership and institutions would be undermined, making it easier to manipulate public opinion and cause social disarray.
Education would be corrupted: The education system, particularly universities, would be infiltrated to instill Marxist-Leninist or socialist ideas in younger generations. Over time, students would graduate with a worldview that questions their country's founding principles and is hostile towards both capitalism and democracy.
Media and culture would be weaponized: Bezmenov emphasized the role of media, arts, and entertainment in spreading divisive narratives. By portraying traditional values as outdated and promoting alternative ideologies, these institutions would further destabilize the nation.
Polarization would intensify: As demoralization progressed, society would become increasingly segregated. Groups within the population would begin to see each other as enemies, with no possibility of reconciliation or compromise. The nation would be fragmented along ideological, social, and political lines, leading to civil unrest or even collapse.
Watching the Harris and Trump campaigns is a frightening peek into just how disunited the nation has become and how close we may now be to collapse. Both sides want us to believe their vision is the solution to America's problems but neither side appears interested in bridging the growing divide. Instead, they both seem intent on fanning the flames and amplifying existing fractures.
Regardless of which candidate wins, one side will be energized while the other side will be alienated. Tensions will be exacerbated, likely fueling further distrust in all levels of government and potentially sparking protests and civil unrest. Political gridlock will paralyze Congress, with neither party willing to compromise. The hint of social trust that remains will disappear like a feather in the wind as Americans retreat into their ideological camps, losing faith in the very idea of a “United” States.
More Americans may begin to question the effectiveness of democracy itself. With both sides convinced their vision of the country is under existential threat, the risk of further radicalization increases. The core principles of a functioning democratic political system could finally buckle under the pressure.
Our ideological separation from each other is a bright red flashing light signaling the breakdown of social cohesion. When conditions like these emerged in other countries in recent history — think Yugoslavia or Syria — instability, war, and societal collapse often soon followed.
America faces an existential challenge in the coming decade. Though the nation has survived divisive periods before, the current level of polarization is unprecedented, reinforced by nefarious social media actors, a toothless media that has abandoned its role in favor of partisan journalism and, increasingly, artificial intelligence tools deployed by adversaries to sow confusion and chaos.
The stakes are high, and the future of the American democratic experiment hangs in the balance. Yet all is not lost. The Gallup poll results indicate that Americans are increasingly aware of our divisions, and with that awareness comes the possibility to address it. The more we begin understand what happens when we are purposely demoralized and kept apart from each other, the better chance there is to reverse the trend and begin to heal.
Bezmenov believed demoralization could be undone with concerted effort. He stressed the importance of promoting objective truth and critical thinking by recommitting to truthful reporting and responsible education, as well as rebuilding trust in public institutions. He said we can also heal as a society by rediscovering a sense of shared identity and finding common values that transcend partisan politics.
Finally, Bezmenov argued that awareness of the demoralization process is itself a defense against it. If we recognize we are being manipulated, we may begin to resist the worst of the brainwashing.
Hmmm. What if the process of “demoralization” wasn’t started by some “external” enemy but the CIA? The tactics mentioned by Bezmenov have also been long used around the world by the CIA to topple regimes. And, going back to the political assassinations of the 1960s? Who was responsible… we still don’t know.
Many of us didn’t feel “United” by 9/11. The Patriot Act and the illicit wars in Afghanistan and Iraq can be pointed to as demoralizing and divisive as well, adding to a history of warmongering since Vietnam, another divisive chapter.
History and power dynamics are cyclical. Most likely the US is in a maturation crisis in which the shadow of the nation must be faced and, like a cancer, the poisonous qualities excised. But it also might be too late.
The situation in America is indeed at a serious crisis point. The division between people seems almost insurmountable. I have to remain optimistic that we can still turn our direction to a better, more peaceful future. Do you not see hope with RFK JR, Tulsa Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswami and others joining with Trump? I have never supported Trump, but am starting to believe with a new team of people around him, and the experience of two assassination attempts, that he truly wants to do some good in avoiding wars, shutting down corporate capture, etc. Your thoughts?