Battlefield America: Will We Follow the Path to Civil War or Seize the Moment for Prosperity?

America finds itself in a hauntingly familiar position. Twice before, the country has been forced to reckon with overwhelming division. The first confrontation, etched in blood and fire, tore the nation apart in civil war. Yet the second yielded a fleeting moment of unparalleled prosperity, one where the fruits of economic growth seemed to trickle down to all. Today, as dysfunction threatens to unravel the fabric of the nation once more, history offers urgent lessons for how to mend what’s broken—and more importantly, how to prevent disaster.

But to understand the roots of today’s crisis, we must first examine the extraordinary rise of the über-wealthy. In 1983, there were 66,000 American households worth at least $10 million. Fast forward to 2019, after adjusting for inflation, and that number has exploded tenfold. The wealth boom isn’t confined to the top echelon. The number of households worth $5 million has increased sevenfold, and even the ranks of millionaires have quadrupled. Meanwhile, the very Constitution that guarantees every state a republican form of government seems increasingly irrelevant in the face of this economic divide. Article IV, Section 4 still stands as law, but what has become of it?

Where does democracy come into play in all of this? Strangely enough, the word “democracy” doesn’t even appear in the Constitution. Yet we throw it around so carelessly, as though it were the nation’s beating heart. But is it really? Or is it just an illusion, a shadow cast on the walls of a system that no longer functions for its people?

Let’s start small—take a town with a local school district, governed by a local board of education. Over time, the townspeople grow frustrated. They’re fed up with what’s being taught in their schools, who’s teaching it, the bloated costs, and the out-of-touch “school officials” running the show. So, in an act of democratic defiance, they vote down the annual school budget. The town council responds by slashing funds for programs like Gender Studies, White People Stink Studies, and Socialism Is Great! Studies.

But this is where the illusion cracks. The teachers’ union won’t stand for the cuts, and they go on strike. The school board appeals to the State Department of Education, and, like clockwork, the funds are reinstated. Democracy, it seems, has failed. The people’s voice, the people’s vote—it all vanishes into thin air.

It’s not just the local level where democracy falters. Let’s look at the national stage. It’s a presidential election year, and the incumbent, President Weezle, is deeply unpopular. His public policies are disastrous, his physical and mental fitness for office questionable at best. He’s a walking disaster, yet he’s the sitting president. He’s won the Democrat primaries, millions have voted to re-nominate him, and tens of millions of dollars are flowing into his campaign. His re-election seems impossible, yet the wheels of “democracy” keep turning.

Behind the scenes, the real work of democracy begins. Pressure is quietly applied, and Weezle is forced to step aside. No public votes, no open debates—just whispers in dark corridors. His vice-president is slipped into his place, again without a single vote cast by the people. He’s still technically president, but only in name, as a new face assumes power. The votes cast for Weezle? They no longer matter. The question of who’s truly running the country lingers in the air like a bad dream, but no one seems to notice.

Do you see it now? Are the veils starting to lift? Our Founding Fathers rejected democracy as a form of government for a reason. And here we are, in a system that has morphed, twisted, and changed—without a single vote to mark the transformation. In this new era of "democracy," decisions are made in the shadows, and all we see are the consequences.

The question remains: What will we do next? Will we follow the path that led to civil war, or will we seize the moment to create a prosperity that reaches all? Time is running out, and the stakes have never been higher.