Are we being deliberately torn apart?

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Sunny

Sunny

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One idea I heard on a talk show the other day makes horrifying sense to me:

The U.S. is being torn into opposing factions by a hostile foreign power that has a "high level" enabler in this country, fanning the flames constantly. We are so polarized and furious with the other side (no matter what the issue) that there is no coming together. No civilized discussion, no compromise. Just hostility and contempt. And the end result is chaos for our country, which is what our foreign enemy wants. Law and order? Race relations? Wearing masks? Opening schools and business? Church/state issues? Gun control? Saving the planet? Police brutality? Abortion rights? Taxing the wealthy? Even whether we should have mail-in ballots at the next election, for God's sake?

Every one of these issues gets us instantly whooshed into one polarized camp or the other. The reaction is pretty knee-jerk. We know what we believe, because that is what "our side" believes. No point discussing, all we're going to do is yell at each other.

If this is true, they are doing a very good job.
 

We don't necessarily need a foreign power, although I can see it fits in nicely.

It's also not about "our side" it's that there is no compromise, and on certain issues maybe there can't be, or the side believes there can't be.
 
Sunny said:
One idea I heard on a talk show the other day makes horrifying sense to me:

The U.S. is being torn into opposing factions by a hostile foreign power that has a "high level" enabler in this country, fanning the flames constantly. We are so polarized and furious with the other side (no matter what the issue) that there is no coming together. No civilized discussion, no compromise. Just hostility and contempt. And the end result is chaos for our country, which is what our foreign enemy wants. Law and order? Race relations? Wearing masks? Opening schools and business? Church/state issues? Gun control? Saving the planet? Police brutality? Abortion rights? Taxing the wealthy? Even whether we should have mail-in ballots at the next election, for God's sake?

Every one of these issues gets us instantly whooshed into one polarized camp or the other. The reaction is pretty knee-jerk. We know what we believe, because that is what "our side" believes. No point discussing, all we're going to do is yell at each other.

If this is true, they are doing a very good job.
Click to expand...

As for a hostile foreign power ...I dunno. Think it's entirely possible from several directions, but just as damaging are the mostly hidden kingmakers of the Western world that coalesced post WWII.

Every one of these issues gets us instantly whooshed into one polarized camp or the other. The reaction is pretty knee-jerk. We know what we believe, because that is what "our side" believes.
Click to expand...

I hate this part the most. Even beyond the yelling, it's intellectually lazy but a lot of smart people fall for it. That's why I type over and over ...read about an issue from left and right sources, read international sources then try to figure out the truth.
 
It has been shown that certain countries have used bots on various social media to amplify divisive messages and to sow disinformation. So yes, I do think that foreign governments are trying to weaken us through dissension. I was hoping the pandemic would help us unite, but it's seemed to have the opposite effect.
 
Perhaps the foreign power is putting some kind of psychotropic drug in the nation's water supply, 'cause people are acting nuttier than they have in the past. I don't find it hard to ignore most of the crap people say. Why do other people feel they must do something every time some dope keeps going on with their off-key oratorio?
 
gennie said:
This country was built on compromise and that became a dirty word in Washington about a decade ago.
Click to expand...

I personally think it really started about 26 years ago myself. Up until that time there was a certain amount of give and take in congress that seemed to disappear rather quickly. But I think I might be getting a little too political, so I'll bite my tongue.
 
Barbiegirl said:
Did this talk show name the foreign power in question?
Click to expand...

Yes, Russia and China were the foreign powers mentioned.

It's hard to discuss this without getting "political." So I'll stop there. But this cartoon might help to fill in the blanks.
EakoZSpU0AELFet
 
Don't forget all the media and their "fan the flames" click bait stories. And that statement covers both sides of the spectrum. :mad:
The old adage still works... divide and conquer.
I believe we are now actively engaged in a civil war, though not as blood letting as in the past.... yet.:(
 
Have human beings ever lived together in peace? It seems to be in our nature to be at war. Until recently all young men were trained as soldiers because it was taken for granted that they would be needed to fight in a war.
A country is weakened by conflict so it is the interests of foreign powers to sow dissent and take advantage of any hostility between fellow citizens.
 
Sunny said:
Yes, Russia and China were the foreign powers mentioned.
It's hard to discuss this without getting "political." So I'll stop there. But this cartoon might help to fill in the blanks.
EakoZSpU0AELFet
Click to expand...

Cartoon doesn't load for me. :(

I don't think it's a secret that certain interests such as Russia and China are trying to interfere. There always has been and always will be international subterfuge and skullduggery; to me the question is "why should the U.S. be more vulnerable to that nowadays, and how do we resist it going forward?" Imo technology and social media have a lot to do with the former, and critical reasoning is the answer to the latter.
 
I've wondered for months who's been pulling the strings in this situation. While I'm not certain about the foreign power theory, it is a possibility. I believe some actions taken by Americans have fueled the fires. For example, sending armed fed troops / aka mercenaries to inflame protesters into violence is just a repeat of a 19th century tactic used by professional provocateurs to push those otherwise, non violent targets into acts of anarchy and violence so people will believe they are indeed anarchists and are just getting what they deserve when they are beaten and / or whisked away in unmarked vehicles by force.

It always worked and is working again over a 100 years later. Well organized, whoever is doing this.

portland mom 1.jpg
 
asp3 said:
I personally think it really started about 26 years ago myself. Up until that time there was a certain amount of give and take in congress that seemed to disappear rather quickly. But I think I might be getting a little too political, so I'll bite my tongue.
Click to expand...

That was right about the time of the end of the Cold War. The powers-behind-the-thrones who were united against a common enemy began to throw their money (16 Sept 1992 a big day in the scheme of things) and influence behind other ideological pet projects that are often diametrically opposed to one another.

The above falls right in line time wise (coincidental as far as I know) with Tim Berners-Lee's development of the World Wide Web which lets us sit behind a screen and spew hatered against whomever it is we 'other'. We're being played into othering and rudeness and most are falling for it hook, line and sinker.
 
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chic said:
I've wondered for months who's been pulling the strings in this situation. While I'm not certain about the foreign power theory, it is a possibility. I believe some actions taken by Americans have fueled the fires. For example, sending armed fed troops / aka mercenaries to inflame protesters into violence is just a repeat of a 19th century tactic used by professional provocateurs to push those otherwise, non violent targets into acts of anarchy and violence so people will believe they are indeed anarchists and are just getting what they deserve when they are beaten and / or whisked away in unmarked vehicles by force.

It always worked and is working again over a 100 years later. Well organized, whoever is doing this.

View attachment 116332

That's very interesting, Chic. I didn't know that stunt with the provocateurs had been done before. So, whoever is pulling the strings didn't even have to come up with something original?
Click to expand...
 
Sunny said:
Yes, Russia and China were the foreign powers mentioned.

It's hard to discuss this without getting "political." So I'll stop there. But this cartoon might help to fill in the blanks.
EakoZSpU0AELFet
Click to expand...

No clue who that is, but given that you posted it, I'm guessing it's a slam from the left. You're a smart woman, but your posts a lot of times read more 'go team' than thoughtful. This OP is an exception. Great thread!
 
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Drugs, racial indifference, absence of respect among politicians, mean spirited media with little discipline/respect for anyone that disagrees, unemployment, unfair wages, pathetic education standards compared to other countries and rampant dishonesty in our leaders. The most troubling thing is things are not going to get better, only worse.
 
AnnieA said:
No clue who that is, but given that you posted it, I'm guessing it's a slam from the left. You're a smart woman, but your posts a lot of times read more 'go team' than thoughtful. This OP is an exception. Great thread!
Click to expand...

See, there you go, Annie. "Slam from the left?" You're already denegrating it without even knowing "who that is," because I posted it? Perfect example of exactly what I am talking about.

(I went back and reread what you originally wrote, Annie, and I probably overreacted. But "slam from the left" really does sound pretty nasty. You are probably one of the less polarized people who post on this forum.)
 
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IMO China is the only country on earth that takes the long view.

China works quietly and methodically to advance its position around the world.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/18/world/asia/world-built-by-china.html

I think that the internet pranksters/terrorists/influencers share common goals and strategies but are not in any way organized or backed by one country or group.

IMO it's up to each of us to think for ourselves and be skeptical of anything we see or hear these days.
 
Barbiegirl said:
Cartoon doesn't load for me. :(

I don't think it's a secret that certain interests such as Russia and China are trying to interfere. There always has been and always will be international subterfuge and skullduggery; to me the question is "why should the U.S. be more vulnerable to that nowadays, and how do we resist it going forward?"
Click to expand...
Maybe due to the U.S.’s current leadership or lack of
 
Just out of curiosity, was anybody able to see the cartoon? If not, did you try clicking on those teeny little letters that say Click to Expand?
 

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