The people of the United States owe a debt of gratitude to Major General William T. Sherman, for it was he, his men, and their scorched-earth rampage through the state of Georgia that helped hasten an end to the Confederacy. And yet many still believe the South will rise again, and they hold the Confederacy aloft as some sort of talisman to ward off Northern aggression. At the same time, they think the Confederacy is a long-neglected paradise on earth that has yet to be realized. “Heritage, not hate” is the nonsensical phrase they use, and racism is what fuels them. Sherman should have kept going.
History books tell us that the Civil War ended in 1865, and accurate history books tell us that the Civil War was fought because the South wanted to preserve the institution of slavery. Ideally, history books written in the post-Trump era will note that many in the MAGA crowd are still fighting the Civil War. While MAGA and the rest of the far-right crowd think Sharia Law will be a consequence of the midterm elections, they also gleefully usher in the age of the Christian Taliban.
Much like Southern clergy used the Bible to justify their pro-slavery stance, the modern right-wing clergy continues the tradition. The repeal of Roe v. Wade and the abortion restrictions that followed, at the request of the Christian Right, have led to a doubling of the deaths resulting from ectopic pregnancies. Women are merely incubators under Christian Nationalism. Several prominent pastors have expressed their desire to repeal the 19th Amendment, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has shared that sentiment on social media. From taking away SNAP benefits to kidnapping immigrants to taking away healthcare, the Bible has been perverted beyond recognition.
The new civil war—if we can call it that—isn’t much different from the North vs. South conflict. The old Civil War was, to put it mildly, essentially a right-versus-wrong war, and that is what we have now. The rich and powerful hunger for more and can never be satisfied, so they keep taking from the poor in a reverse Robin Hood. To help them steal our surplus value from our labor, the 1% need an act of subterfuge. They need scapegoats and an existential threat that is never properly articulated. Immigrants, Muslims, feminists, communists, welfare recipients, etc., are all used to inflame the far-right MAGA crowd as examples of those who want to take away our way of life, whatever that means. The American dream is perpetually out of reach, and the only thing standing in its way is a group of minorities. It’s divisive, and it works.
In yet another instance of the modern, ongoing civil war, Trump recently held a rally in which he added fuel to the fire to further the divide between our two separate nations. While referring to the Iran War and his alleged success in preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, Trump had this to say: “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay…” That’s bad enough, but worse still, some at the rally clapped and cheered. Hearing cities full of innocent people described as targets to be “taken out” should instill concern. Instead, we heard celebration.
Hating someone you don’t know because they live in a state you were told to hate is turning geography into a personality disorder, and this is something that should concern us all. The enthusiasm for cruelty coming from Trump’s biggest fans was instantaneous, and the deplorable lack of empathy for someone with a different zip code was disgusting. The midterm elections have turned into a political pep rally, where both teams are essentially playing for the same side, and the people in the stands are the ones who will lose.
The damage control after Trump’s words went into high gear, but whether he said what he meant or meant what he said is erroneous, for MAGA will interpret his words however they wish. California is a Blue State, and anyone living there is the enemy, just like Jesus taught us.
While the Civil War was about upholding white supremacy and continuing slavery, much of what is happening in the U.S. can also be described that way. The Trump administration has successfully convinced MAGA that people who don’t look like them, have a different religion, or are a threat to the status quo in any vague way need to be “taken out,” and the only way to do that is to “vote red.” Mediocre straight, white men are in danger of not being listened to anymore, and this is an affront to the American way of life. Socialists and some left-leaning Democrats think we work too much for too little, and this is an affront to the capitalists who rely on wage slavery for their existence.
While the Bible tells us to welcome the stranger, MAGA supports ICE and their murderous rampages, disguised as law and order, which is just racism with extra steps. MAGA holds drag queens as the epitome of the decline of Western civilization, while maintaining that Donald Trump is a paradigm of moral superiority. The hypocrisy is consistent, expected, and never ceases to amaze. History shows that oppressed people rarely start civil wars. Those in power, or on society’s highest pedestal, start them when their power is threatened. Remind me of the demographic that stormed the Capitol building on January 6? It wasn’t immigrants or transgender folks or antifa.
What Major General William T. Sherman got wrong is that you can’t burn white supremacy to the ground. By not punishing those responsible for the Civil War and the Confederacy, by not pulling up the roots, the U.S. allowed white supremacy not only to continue, but to flourish. Now we have a garden full of weeds.
As with all op-es published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.
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