red states / blue states
There has been a lot of debate lately about whether or not the United States of America is heading for another civil war. According to one law professor from the University of Tennessee the United States is no longer heading for a civil war. Professor Glenn Harland Reynolds contends that the reason we are no longer heading for a civil war is because our civil war has already begun. Monday USA Today ran an opinion piece written by the University of Tennessee professor that was titled "Is America headed toward a civil war? Sanders, Nielsen incidents show it has already begun." For the readers of Halsey News who are not familiar with USA Today, you should really take the time to google this fine piece of work because the Professor Reynolds makes some very insightful points with what he had to say .

It is his belief that recent attacks that were committed by bleeding heart liberals and their supporters against Nielsen and Sanders show that our civil war has already started. He is not saying that we are at the point of north versus south in the 1850s yet, but he does believe that is the direction that Americans are heading. It is his contention that America has found itself in a soft civil war for the time being. At this very moment Americans all over the country are sorting themselves into two groups. Those two groups are red or blue. It should not be too difficult for my readers to be able to determine which side of the line I fall on in this civil war.

It could easily be stated that there are things that people on both sides of the line that has been drawn are angry about. Democrats are mad about everything. The targets of their anger are the existence of the electoral college to Trump's propaganda and everything in between. Lets not forget that if it were not for the electoral college America would have a very different President instead of the one we currently have. Democrats have made it very clear that if the mid term elections do not go the way that they wish to see them go then Americans who did not support them should expect there to be hell. As far as what people on the conservative side are angry about we are currently fighting against such things as immigration and wanting to protect our country.

The difference between the two sides is that while the Republicans control the government right now liberals hold a lot of power and influence over culture and academics. Just recently Hollywood took its turn to take a shot at those who support President Trump and his policies when powerful Hollywood Producers and directors criticized Twenty-First Century Fox over its commentators supporting President Trump and his zero tolerance policy on immigration. The co-creator of the Emmy award winning comedy "Modern Family" spoke out against Twenty First Century Fox on twitter when he said that he was disgusted to work for the Fox studio because it was owned by the same company as Fox News. It was not that long ago when Steve Levitan made it public knowledge that he intends to take his work elsewhere after his current contract with Fox expires next year.

Levitan is not the only one in Hollywood who has expressed such discontent for those who support President Trump and those associated with his supporters. In the words of Professor Reynolds, "Hollywood has basically turned its products, and its award shows, into showcases for 'the resistance.'"

While today it seems to be acceptable to a large number of Americans that Sarah Huckabee Sanders was kicked out of The Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington, Virginia because the owner and staff did not approve of her political views it seems like only yesterday that such an incident would not have been tolerated at all. The Red Hen should count themselves blessed that unlike over sensitive homosexual couples who get upset when a baker refuses to make them a cake because of his religious beliefs, Sarah Huckabee Sanders has handled this incident with more grace and poise than most Democrats have shown in their entire life time.

Before The Red Hen incident there was the incident that took place at a Mexican restaurant involving Kirstjen Nielsen who found herself bullied by a mob of anti-Trump protesters that interrupted her dinner. As though being bullied out of the restaurant was not bad enough she was further harassed at her own home.

I am not going to say that the liberals are the only ones to blame for this civil war. All wars have two sides. It takes the actions of people on both sides to make this war happen. Only someone who is naïve would allow themselves to be a dreamer and foolish enough to believe that this situation isn't going to get worse. Every time one side forms a mob and sends it out to attack the people that they disagree with they are forcing the other side to retaliate. This will be what takes us from a soft civil war to a full out war that is filled with acts of political violence similar to what we experienced after Hillary Clinton lost the election when Americans all across the country belonged in the mental hospital in a straight jacket as they tried to claim that President Trump was not their President.

The United States has found itself in a situation similar to a marriage that has come to its end. When the two people involved in the marriage look at each other and can only feel contempt that is almost a guarantee that the relationship is beyond the point of being saved. There was an America where each person was allowed to have his or her own opinion and differences of opinion were treated with respect and not contempt. As a nation a large number of Americans have forgotten how to do that. The problem is that large number is larger than the number of Americans who still respect the fact that none of us have to agree with each other. The news media that is controlled and the liberals do not want America to remember that it is okay for Americans to have their own differences in opinions. It would lower the viewership that mainstream media receives and it would lessen the chance of the Democrats being able to ever regain the power that they lost when the people of America made their voices heard and put President Trump in office.

If Americans all across the nation could set their anger aside and take a lesson from my brother and me that would make America a better place for everybody. If someone were to ask me if I know that my brother is anti Trump I would look at them and say, "duh!" He would probably have the same reaction or something similar if someone asked him if he knew that I am a full on headstrong Trump supporter. The difference is that throughout the current situation that America finds itself in we have not allowed our political views to become more important than our relationship as brothers. To this day if I saw my brother being attacked by a bunch of Trump supporters I would not hesitate to come to my brothers defense no matter how many Trump supporters that angered. There is no doubt in my mind that if my brother saw me being attacked by a bunch of anti-Trump protesters he would stand by me and defend me as well. If anyone is going to kick my a** it's going to be him. If anyone is going to kick his a** it's going to be me. That's just the way it is. Everyone else can go f*** off. What that shows is that it is okay for Americans to look at each other and disagree without contempt.

The United States used to be a nation full of relationships that were similar to the one I share with my brother. We had neighborhoods that had get togethers, pick up football games, pool parties, and barbeques. People had relationships with those who they went to church with. It was the way that we identified who we are as Americans that allowed such relationships to exist. If I were a Trump supporter named Alex Roberts the relationship with my brother would have died a long time ago because I would have lost all ability to be able to identify with my brother and would not have been able to see him as anything more than the enemy and someone who betrayed me by voting for Hillary Clinton. I am not a Trump supporter named Alex Roberts. I am Alex Roberts first, and yes I happen to be a Trump supporter. My brother is the same way. He is my brother first and then he is an anti-Trump protester. At the end of the day we love each other. We have each others back. This is the way it should be for everyone. This is the way it will always be for the two of us.

We already had one civil war that was a disastrous experience for our country. It pitted brother against brother and separated families. As Americans we should be proud of how easily our nation came back together when that war was over. That war much like the soft civil war that we now find ourselves in was fought because of a division in political views. It has often been said that those who do not learn from history are often doom to repeat it. Lets not repeat this history. Lets learn from it and do better than our forefathers before us did. I am Alex Roberts, I support President Trump and his policies. My brother is my brother, and he is against President Trump and his policies. Who are you?