I was wrong.

For years, despite all of the partisan fighting, I’ve been very dismissive of the idea that our country would become entangled in another civil war. But, unfortunately, we might be in the early stages of one.

One of the main reasons why I couldn’t imagine internecine conflict is because states are more politically diverse than just a collection of solid red and solid blue on an Electoral College map. For example, while Republicans love to criticize California as a Democratic hellscape, more people voted for Donald Trump in the Golden State (more than 6 million) than in the dozen smallest states where the president finished ahead of Kamala Harris – combined. Where would Trump voters in California go to fight in a civil war? Los Angeles or Oregon?

But diversity and nuance are reasons why I should be more open-minded about a modern civil war. I apparently needed to remind myself that Americans in the North and South were not uniform in their views during the 1860s. I’m sure there were people in each region that didn’t agree with the majority view on slavery or states’ rights.

By definition, a civil war is a war between citizens of the same country, not necessarily one between homogenous states. 

Which brings us to today where, were it not for a court order, we’d have Texans ready to do battle against Oregonians. Texas National Guard soldiers landed in Illinois this week. And we’ve already had South Carolinians in Washington, D.C., ready to take on American citizens in the nation’s capital. 

The potential for war is not a far-fetched concept pushed by........

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