I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, our partisan divide among elected officials has spilled over into society. We are now into identity politics and have formed tribes. It’s not just about disagreeing over policy, direction, this law, this version, this amendment, or the others. No, we’ve allowed our differences of opinions to make us each other’s enemies.

From the highest level of government, we have encouraged violence, and violent people are responding.

Any study of history will clearly indicate that tribalism, tribal attitudes, especially practiced among countrymen and women, coworkers, friends, and neighbors, is the stuff that weakens societies. This nation established a constitution, a group of ideas regarding government and its relationship with the citizens. Well, it’s apparent that both the government and the people it represents have begun to rail against the governing document and against the principles for which it stands. In other words, certain tribes don’t care what the law says, what the norms are, and don’t care about the impact of their actions on the rest of us; it’s their way or the highway right here, right now. Far too many of those radical thinkers and actors are willing to wreak havoc, cause destruction, and even death.

Civil unrest is a bi-product of our partisanship. From the highest level of government, we tell people lies, say to them, don’t trust the results, and worse, take matters into your own hands and be sure you bring your weapon. From the highest level of government, we have encouraged violence, and violent people are responding. Our current president, Donald Trump, and several congress members are likely to be criminally charged for their role in an attack on the Capitol. Let that soak in. People we sent to represent us, to protect us, to consider and pass laws for the betterment of society are likely guilty of sedition, leading a rebellion against law, order, and established authority. Our partisanship, tribalism, and pandering to right-wing, anti-government forces have allowed a group of anarchists to become emboldened and empowered.

In Washington, D. C., five people died when a mob invaded a US Government facility. If that had happened at one of our embassies in the middle east, we’d be sending troops. Well, as I write this, we are arming forces to fight homegrown anarchists in our nation’s capital as well as in-state capitols across this nation. We’re at a point where we are sending troops to protect us from us, Americans from Americans, elected officials from citizens; this is undoubtedly a new America, one we wouldn’t have envisioned even a couple of decades ago. But here we are. The questions are, where do we go from here? Can we fix this, or is this to become the new way of life in America?

Tune into NTHBLK with BobD every Wednesday at 6 PM CST on Facebook and YouTube Live.