Carl Bernstein: The Country is in the Midst of a Civil War

Ed Driscoll makes the case that Bernstein is late to the party on this, as the claim has persuasively been made before that the US has in fact entered a period of "Cold Civil War."

A sci-fi writer called a book "The Cool War," referring to Cold War with occasional bits of hotness (like, say, a partisan gunning down Republican Congressmen).

We might be in a Cold Civil War with some hotness from time to time.

Driscoll quotes a blogger called "The Hyacinth Girl" who spoke of Cold Civil War back in the relatively mild 2007:

At some point last month, I put down William Gibson’s newest tome and picked up something written by Victor Davis Hanson. I am only now getting back to Spook Country, and though I’m afraid that I know exactly where Gibson is going with this, I found his idea of this country being in a “cold civil war” to be fascinating. What would that entail, exactly? A cold war is a war without conflict, defined in one of several online dictionaries as “[a] state of rivalry and tension between two factions, groups, or individuals that stops short of open, violent confrontation.” In that respect, is the current political climate one of “cold civil war”? I think arguments could be made to that effect. My mother, not much of a political enthusiast, has made similar assessments since the 2000 election, concerned that the political climate (which has become increasingly acrimonious in the last 7 years) would indeed lead to some sort of lukewarm civil war–not hot, not cold, just divisive and destructive. Seven years ago, I laughed off her fears, secure in my naivete.Now, I’m not so sure.

I've previously said it and I believe it: 90% of your political stances right now flow directly from whether you think we're at a point of crisis, or you think, as some NeverTrumpers are currently giving to claiming, that everything's pretty much okay and it's all just business as usual.

posted by Ace at 07:38 PM

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