A Social Hibernation Is on The Horizon

We may be confronting a rougher period in the United States because we have become so divided

Introduction

So much negative energy steals the oxygen out of the air that we breathe these days. Pessimism, anger, fear, suspicious, hostility, unending grief, the lack of hope, and criticisms have become pervasive in our society. These adverse things shroud all of us like a veil.

Division has become a national curse. It has also become a trusted companion to those who embrace and celebrate the true character of its essence. Division has become powerful enough to rip genuine love out of life-long friendships. It has developed into a deadly poison that has executed the growing respect that once created somewhat of a stable sense of community that used to be shared by so many diverse human beings. Corruption has morphed into a noble characteristic and integrity has mutated into pure evil because of the divisiveness.

This article examines three reasons why our nation is now so fragmented, and it forecasts a dreadful outcome if we fail to mend these shattered pieces with the threads of unity with a great sense of urgency.

The Cause of These Treacherous Conditions

Never has the United States been confronted with so many simultaneous life-altering, life-threatening, and life-ending problems before. All these powerful issues erupted into explosive events that dramatically changed the emotional landscape of our nation. Now, a spirit of gloom and doom covers our land like a dark cloud.

Each of these will be problems will be highlighted below.

1. The Pandemic

At the time that this article was written, over 224, 824 men, women, young adults, children, and infants have died in the United States due to the corona virus. The devastation of the pandemic has resulted in countless Americans transforming this contagion into a political issue. The belief of so many citizens is that President Trump instigated the politicization of the virus because of his prolonged denial of its existence by referring to it as

“a hoax.”

He manipulated the truth about the power of covid-19 to downplay it. His failure to model and enforce mask wearing and social distancing widen the partisan schism. Because the president has also willfully and persistently misled the American public, the cases of the coronavirus continue to surge throughout our totally divided nation.

Many writers have joined me in sharing their perspectives about the blatant mishandling of the virus by publishing stories. One written by Dr. Jeff Livingston follows along with one that I wrote.

2. Educational Disruptions

School as we once knew school to be has been totally disrupted. The normalcy that we once appreciated as routine abruptly halted when covid-19 began to spread earlier in the year. Virtual learning quickly became the norm. As time progressed, so did the debates about the educational format for the rapidly approaching 2020–2021 school year.

Now, three models of learning prevail for the time being. Some schools have fully reopened with safety protocols in place. Other educational programs include an exclusive virtual component so that learning and instruction are offered at home. The remaining educational option is a hybrid program where part of the education is provided at school and the rest is provided at home.

While teachers and school leaders have shown commendable efforts in delivering rigorous opportunities for students, many educational disruptions prevail. Some of the most reported educational interruptions include:

• The need to periodically close facilities when covid-19 cases erupt among students and school personnel.
• Many students have fallen behind in their studies and are not performing at their grade level.
• The delivery of specialized supports and services to many students enrolled in special education programs has been inconsistent.
• Poor home and school communications among non-English speaking families have remained the norm for many.
• The high rate of absent students due to the lack internet connectivity in some homes and because students have been unaccounted for during online classes.

Our nation continues to remain torn as it relates to schools reopening, the connectivity inequities that exists among students educated at home who do not have internet access, and whether the highest quality of student learning is even taking place during the pandemic.

A few articles that some of the educational concerns that continue to haunt our societal well-being are shown below. Jan M. Flynn wrote one while I wrote the other one.

3. Social Unrest

Racism has plagued the United States for century after weary century and decade after demoralizing decade. The voices of those who denounced the brutal treatment of Black and Brown human souls at the hands of White law enforcement officers throughout the ages have been ignored. I wrote an article about a young man named Antwon Rose. This precious young man was enrolled in the school district that I was employed in as a district level administrator. He was brutally killed by a police officer. His story follows.

The vicious and inhumane execution of George Floyd in real-time awakened this savage reality. His gruesome death aroused the entire world and caused racism to be confronted en masse. A link to the story that I wrote about the death of George Floyd follows.

The Black Lives Matters Movement along with forms of human injustices provoked a high level of social turbulence because of the Floyd case. Tensions continue to remain high despite the reality that the volume of some voices have been lowered but certainly not silenced.

Since President Trump has absolutely refused to disavowal racism and White supremacy, the voices of the citizens who have had enough of his blatant bigotry, discrimination, prejudice, hatred, and indifference will be heard very loudly through their votes. Whatever the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, Trump has stated multiple times in the past that there will not be a peaceful transition of presidential power. Because of this, he has manufactured a spirit of violence and contention that will be unleashed on this fragmented nation.

Are We Headed for A Civil War?

The pandemic, educational disruptions, and social unrest have caused the nation to reach a tipping point. I wrote about this topic as it relates to our country reaching

“a pivotal moment in time”

in the story that is shown below.

I am not the only writer who presents information about our very troubled times along with the possibility of a detrimental shift approaching on the horizon. J.C. Peters wrote a powerful article in Noteworthy — The Journal Blog called

“Is America on the Verge of Another Civil War?”

This article was published on September 22, 2020. According to this author, all the unrest and protests that followed the killing of George Floyd combined with the increasing economic loss due to the pandemic, violence could explode throughout the nation if President Trump wins the upcoming election. Peters further states that Trump has threatened to deploy military forces to defend the property and lives of citizens. I agree with the opinion of this author that conditions

“might escalate into widespread violent unrest the likes of which we haven’t seen for decades.”

Here is a link to J.C. Peters entire story:

The harsh reality is that the President of the United States has unapologetically used his divisive rhetoric to plant the seeds to actively promote civil unrest. In fact, he has incited and enflamed the entire nation with his continuous verbal discord. The person who should hold the most honored position in the nation has preyed upon his populace like a child-like bully to agitate those with opposing views. Instead of behaving presidential, Trump has repeatedly instigated battles between conservative, moderate, liberal, independent, and radical groups of citizens of the United States of America.

President Trump thrives on chaos. This is the name of a brief article that I published about the character flaws of our national leader. Here is the link to this story.

Our chaotic president has led our nation to a tipping point. Because absolute confusion empowers and stimulates the president, I believe our nation will be confronting troubling times beginning Election Day. Protesting, lawlessness, looting, hate crimes, injuries, and the destruction of private property will result. I fear that our cities and states will be governed by martial law. I hope no human will lose their life.

Conclusion

Like J.C. Peters, my greatest fear is that our nation is really on the verge of erupting into a civil war. Here is my legitimate fear. Brothers and sisters may fight brothers and sisters. Children may become estranged from their parents. Neighbors may have battles against neighbors. I just believe conditions may become extremely dangerous within the borders of the United States.

Just as the United States was forced into a societal lockdown due to the pandemic, I believe another one may be coming. As a nation, we have reached a tipping point because citizens of our nation have had their fill of negativity, sorrow, instabilities, racism, and corruption. Perhaps another lockdown may be looming because of these things.

I sincerely and humbly believe that unity is the only force that has the capacity to prevent this from happening. Unity is able to repair our deep sense of brokenness.

If you enjoyed the articles that I included that support my opinion about the direction that our nation may be headed, you may find these additional stories interesting as well. They were written by Colin Horgan, Ryan Holiday, and David Frum.

Here’s my golden ticket that helps me accomplish my mission.

Dr. Deborah M. Vereen is a retired Teacher and School Administrator. Her website is www.Drdeborahmvereen.com and her YouTube Channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS1DPhBeA29UlybU9jzDkdQ .