“Parting is such sweet sorrow” is a Shakespearean sentiment that, a new study shows, large numbers of Americans do not share. In fact, not only do high percentages of both Republicans and Democrats want to divide our country into “red” and “blue” states, but many among them want to give the other side a punch in the mouth before parting ways.
Red State reported on the findings Thursday, writing that Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene “called for a ‘national divorce’ in February 2023, citing the ‘sick and disgusting woke culture’ of ‘traitorous’ Democrats.”
While liberals “laughed off” the call at the time, the site continued,
a substantial percentage of Democrat voters now agrees on a split — albeit for totally different reasons, of course.
A new survey of 2,008 voters conducted by the Center for Politics [CfP] at the University of Virginia found that 31 percent of Biden supporters want Democratic-controlled states to secede from the U.S. and form their own country.
On the Republican side, the survey found that 41 percent of voters who support Donald Trump’s candidacy support secession, as well.
This wasn’t the only eyebrow-raising finding the survey revealed, either. As the CfP itself adds:
- A staggering majority of both Biden (70%) and Trump (68%) voters believed electing officials from the opposite party would result in lasting harm to the United States.
- Roughly half (52% Biden voters, 47% Trump voters) viewed those who supported the other party as threats to the American way of life.
- About 40% of both groups (41% Biden voters, 38% Trump voters) at least somewhat believed that the other side had become so extreme that it is acceptable to use violence to prevent them from achieving their goals.
Democracy Über…Nothing?
The CfP also found that large numbers of Americans have lost faith in our system. “Disturbingly,” the organization writes, “nearly one-third (31%) of Trump supporters and about a quarter (24%) of Biden supporters at least somewhat agree that democracy is no longer a viable system and that the country should explore alternative forms of government to ensure stability and progress.”
A question, however, could be asked here. Since many conservatives object to describing our government as a “democracy” when it’s technically a republic, how many of those Trump supporters are reacting negatively for that reason alone?
Of what there’s no doubt, however, is that many Americans support constitutional rights’ removal. The CfP also found (all quotations the CfP’s):
- Thirty-one percent of “Biden supporters [BS], in contrast to 25% of Trump supporters [TS], at least somewhat agreed with limiting certain rights, including freedom of speech, to safeguard the feelings and safety of marginalized groups.”
- Forty-seven percent of BS, vs. 35 percent of TS, say government should restrict views “deemed discriminatory or offensive.”
- Seventy-four percent of BS, vs. 35 percent of TS, favor restricting Second Amendment rights.
- Fifty-six percent of BS, vs. 39 percent of TS, support “redistributing all wealth over a certain limit to address income inequality.”
- Sixty-nine percent of BS and a shocking 43 percent of TS favor the mandating of “corporate diversity.”
There also were areas in which Trump supporters were more likely to support restrictions, at least according to the CfP survey. For example:
- Fifty-percent of TS and 32 percent of BS “at least somewhat agreed that laws should be enacted to require citizens to show respect for national symbols and leaders.”
- Thirty-seven percent of TS and 24 percent of BS “believed in enacting laws to restrict the expression of views deemed unpatriotic or disloyal.”
- Regarding national security judgments, 37 percent of TS and 31 percent of BS “were in favor of giving the president the authority to bypass Congress.”
- Forty-five percent of TS and 30 percent of BS “felt that laws should be enacted that limit demonstrations and protests that the government deems potentially disruptive to public order.”
Of course, one could wonder how much of this is influenced by poll-question phraseology. Do, for example, more than four in 10 TS really believe in using Big Brother-enforced quotas to achieve “corporate diversity”? If so, it’s a tribute to propaganda’s power.
What’s for sure is that our fractured status is increasingly apparent. For instance, calling us “the divided states of America,” The Hill’s Myra Adams asserted Friday that we would now “be incapable of uniting in a war crisis.” She may be correct, but the situation is even graver than most think.
Consider: People of different countries recognize different holidays, histories, and heroes.
And how is this different from 2023 America’s “Left” and “Right”?
A few examples: When I was a boy in the ’70s, Columbus Day was celebrated reflexively, the Founders were appreciated, and the still-traditional Boy Scouts were respected by all — Left, Right, and center. Not only is this no longer so, but multiplying this by 1,000 perhaps gives a clear picture of how wide and deep our disagreements run.
Worse still is that we part ways on the most fundamental of issues, from life to marriage to sexuality to sex (as in being male or female). The reality is, actually being different nationalities would only make a difference in that our Left and Right might hate each other less.
Without a righting of our moral ship, where this leads is plain: Since only a powerful autocracy could hold such fractious and disparate “nationalities” together, either tyranny will develop and do so — or there will be a great divorce.
So, ironically, the large minority who’d like to see the country partitioned may get their wish.
