Culture and Society are often used as synonyms. Social norms of acceptable behavior are what the current political debate is about. The Trump Administration successfully used a strategy to tell the public that it was going to return America to the norms of 100 years ago. It also wants to control every aspect of American Society.

Race always has been a major issue in this country even after the days of slavery. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s brought major changes in law and practice. People of color still are discriminated against and treated as less than. Thus, the big push today is against diversity, education, and inclusion (DEI).

For most of our history, White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestants (WASP) were the majority in terms of religious practices. Other religions were tolerated to some extent, but they still were discriminated against in terms of hiring, housing, and employment. People of the Jewish, Catholic or Moslem faiths were shunned and still are hated, particularly since the wars in the Midden East.

As if someone had suddenly open millions of closet doors, the LGBTQ+ community appeared on the scene about 50 years ago. We are especially visible in the arts and entertainment industry. The T stands for transgendered, i.e. they have changed their gender identity by psychological and physical methods. They particularly are hated and considered abnormal.

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Convictions are more than just social constructs. They are the foundations of most religious practices. People who belonged to a minority were feared and ridiculed because they were different. We don’t trust people who are different from us. Religious bias is the strongest because it has the most emotional connection to our personalities. We belong to several tribes, but this one means the most to us.

We also were divided by geographic region and economic class, but we supposedly had the opportunities to move and grow to an upper status. Those opportunities have been limited in recent years because of lack of education, inequality of wealth, and political control of our judicial and government functions by only a few privileged people. Most people are resentful of this class that they called the elite. In fact, they are the 1% of the wealth of the nation and the real Trump supporters, and we are the 99%.

These divisions in economic class, religion, gender identity, and political allegiance have been used to divide our country into warring factions that can’t get along anymore. They are not subtle divisions in our country; they now are openly hostile and often violent. Some people have used a combination of religious beliefs and political practice to manipulate our system of government. The Trump Administration has been most successful in manipulating the media. It’s “us versus them” in about every category in the country. An opinion writer said it went beyond lies to a bold system of bull shit. Most commentators are more polite and just call it propaganda.

“United We Stand, Divided We Fall” was a rallying cry in the Civil War, and now it seems even more relevant in our uncivil wars.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.