Subdivisions

Yes, yes, I know that the 2016 Election is four months decided, and we've had about six weeks to sample the governmental strains of T-Rump.   In elections past, the red side and blue side would take sides, and after the dust settled from Election Day, we (more or less) would come back together.  

Not this time.   Not in my just-under-50 years on this planet have I seen the nation so divided, so partitioned, so divvied up by ideology.   T-Rump talks about fences to enclose the country - but our nation already has these build around ourselves.   Fences more like moats, keeping out all of the "undesirable" news, information, and people so that we all live in our own protective bubbles.   

Separated - just how those that really run things in the world want us to be.

 And the fractures are being seen at the personal level in a way I've never seen before.   We all know and have some familiarity with how family gatherings, especially around dinner tables, can be awkward experiences when you're dealing with people who are equally opinionated about their polar-opposite view from one's own.  Yet, I didn't hear much of families being permanently torn apart by political issues. 

I've seen, and heard, a far different story this time out.  

I remember turning on the radio to listen to some talk, and on more than a few occasions, I've heard of friendships breaking up due to the issues surrounding the election.   I will venture a guess that more than a few marriages split up as a result, as well.   The Facebook memes seemed to take a darker, separationist turn.  One such meme told of a Trump supporter who stated that a vote for him doesn't mean the end - that "we can be adults", right?   But the answer to that meme was, "No, I can't call you a friend when you vote for somebody who is so completely against everything I believe in, and on a core level".  

What does this mean?   The more I think about it, the more questions I have rather than answers to give.   Is this yet another symptom of a collapsing empire?  It looks to me like America can't come to a consensus on what is even means to be an American at all.  Without that, what else do you have?  Without knowing what it means, you have a Nation-In-Name-Only - an empty shell with no substance.   Other nations can see it - but when will we agree to look at our own reflection in the mirror or reflecting pool and see what it is we've become?

Divided?  Our nation is subdivided. 

And if we don't find a consensus on a common set of values, our nation will crumble.