I watched the FRONTLINE documentary “America’s Great Divide” earlier this week, and it left me feeling very unsettled. It’s an excellent summary of where America is today and how we got here, but I got zero hope from this film.
Key Takeaways
The two moments that stuck with me in the film are:
1) the montage of Clinton, Bush, and Obama saying (paraphrasing) “we need to come together”, followed by Trump saying (paraphrasing) “F the libs.”
2) the scene in the White House Rose Garden where Trump makes all the Republican leadership take turns praising his greatness. It’s disturbing, and struck me as something a dictator like Stalin or Kim Jong Un would do.
Worse yet, the prospects going into 2020 aren’t looking any better. Trump has a loyal following, and the Democratic nominees are not promising anything that will bring this country together. Should Trump lose the election, I highly doubt he’ll surrender power willingly. I find it much more likely he’ll says it’s “fake news” and rile his supporters to stand up and fight. That will be a true national crisis and I imagine the outcome will largely depend on which side the military sides with.
I’m planning for the worst and preparing an exit strategy. I hope I won’t need it, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.