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I track dangerous US orgs for work. You don’t need me to explain that extremist threats have blossomed. The possibility of civil conflict here is real. It’s on the horizon. It’s a thing that happens in countries. Now is the moment to steer ourselves away.
Folks might not realize the potential for open conflict bc our country is fragmented into virtual worlds. Other Americans live in other information spheres and they don’t visit any of the same websites you do. Some of those spheres are very dark, for very different reasons.
I spend time in some of these worlds, where I read calls for “rivers of blood,” purging the domestic enemy, “kicking off the boog.” Sure: it’s easy to talk. The frustrated anger, paranoid hatred of shitposters. But look into our streets.
Large weapons are openly brandished in tense situations in cities across the country. We watched this trend grow. We expect it to reverse itself? Paramilitary groups in public spaces. Looting in our cities. Acute economic stressors. Unorthodox leader, upcoming election.
This tall bed of dried in late brush in late summer looks flammable.
Many Americans don’t realize or don't believe conflict could happen here. Yet it is part of the rhythm of civilization. Most of our peers saw mass bloodshed in their 20th Century streets. Russia, China, Mexico, Europe. Not us.
No one wants civil conflict. I just came from Colombia where decades of violence still reverberate. The tragedy of war infects every family. The world is saddled with a permanent sadness. Let’s at least make an effort not to rush that way headlong.
