There is a gun shop near where I live that is entirely boarded up. They are still open. I know because the doors were open and they were selling guns when I walked by and business was booming. The boarded up windows are what took me by surprise. My brain, being the conspiracy engine that it is, connected the boarded up windows with the removal of Trump from twitter and the brazen way that many seemed to take it in stride. It all led to the conclusion that there is another mode of communication these folks are using and have been using and the worst is straight up yet to come.
I’m worried. I’m worried that our country has allowed the polarization to get too out of control to the point where it feels unlikely that the center can hold. We feel like a late stage democracy and that is very dangerous, given our position on the world stage.
I’m fearful but I am also hopeful that much of this is driven by what Covid has done to us socially. I am hopeful that once things get back to whatever the new normal is, that the tensions will ebb considerably. I will remain hopeful.