by Wayne Besen • January 31, 2026 • Weekly Column • Comments (0) • 223

America Is Already In a Civil War

Denial Won’t Save Democracy

I’m going to say something out loud that you already know in your head, feel in your heart, but might not be ready to admit. America—right now—is engaged in a low simmering civil war. Whether it volcanically explodes into something ghastly is anyone’s guess.

The rapidly spiraling situation is the culmination of colliding forces that have existed for decades. The advent of a mentally deranged authoritarian cult leader like Donald Trump, however, has created the precarious conditions for our cold war to turn red hot.

The deadly invasion of Minneapolis by heavily armed federal goons, combined with Trump’s deranged speech at Davos makes continued denial of our situation untenable.

Civil War. It is something that people of sound mind desperately want to avoid. The sane majority loves spending blissful nights with their families eating pizza and watching movies. We enjoy meeting friends in cozy coffee shops and catching up at charming sidewalk cafes.

Unfortunately, we share a combustible country with “camouflage creeps” who collect weapons of war, purchase survival gear, and pathologically fantasize about finding meaning in their empty lives by slaughtering fellow Americans.

While we have no desire to trek through the mud, lug heavy guns and dodge deadly drones, these right-wing losers imagine themselves as heroes, demonstrating their “patriotism” in foxholes, while breaking apart the country they purport to love.

As a result of our peaceful values, liberals and moderates have spent the past six decades working, against all odds, to hold our country together. I’ve been involved in politics since 1995, including almost a decade in Washington. The entire time, our country only survived intact because Democrats willed it to happen by being the adults in the room.

During this unruly period, Republicans were free to throw tantrums, spread disinformation, shut down the government, and threaten a global financial meltdown by holding the debt ceiling hostage.

To add insult, members of the GOP chronically treated Democrats with the utmost contempt–hurling vile insults in the most disrespectful ways imaginable. In doing so, Republicans went from a loyal opposition to disloyal obstructionists. Most of the time, creating mayhem, in an effort to appear on Fox News, seemed to be the end game, rather than serving as lawmakers who actually made laws.

Democrats were the glue that held our country together. They would bite their tongues and routinely respond to ugly personal attacks with polite rejoinders, such as, “my esteemed colleague from…”

This was done to preserve a veneer of civilization. Had Democrats strategically decided to behave as abusively as Republicans the wheels of democracy would have come off long ago. But Republicans knew we would be the adults in the room, indulging their bad behavior.

In the end, this cycle of sickness reached its logical conclusion with the election of Donald Trump, a mentally deranged vulgarian with no scruples.

As a result, America is collapsing in real time. The evidence is overwhelming and growing each time we refresh our browsers and glimpse the latest news. Without a change of tune by the Republican Party, and a little luck, our country is destined to take the road to perdition.

Looking back, there is not much more we could have done to prevent this unfolding national catastrophe. The Republican-project to sabotage American democracy has been ongoing for decades. It’s a miracle we didn’t get to this tipping point sooner.