Unprecedented social and political conflict was laid bare in 2017, the likes of which have seldom been seen before.  Our American social fabric is in tatters.  We are looking less enlightened and more divided than at any time since the Civil War.  Progressives on both seaboards are in a battle for political supremacy over old-school thinkers.  Boundaries are analogous to a resurrection of the Mason-Dixon line, except it's now the East and West Coasts versus the rest of America.  Comparing more recent history, we look even less unified than we did in the 1960s – which says something painful about our current political climate.  What's it all about?

It's about cognitive dissonance and the hatred of one prominent man: our courageous president, Donald Trump.  Because of a startling election victory and the president's penchant for keeping promises, hideous lies, innuendo, and insults fly from liberal and conservative mouths alike.  Mainly powered by vitriolic progressive henchmen, this election was largely misunderstood by the over-privileged and their cronies.  Zero tolerance for opposing opinions has been widespread.  Meanwhile, the world laughs at the comedic chasing down of an imaginary Russian menace.

As parents, we have sacrificed to put our young people through college and graduate school only to have them emerge with damaged attitudes and socialist beliefs.  Some poorly advised students unwisely shouldered huge college loans.  When they failed to make good on their promissory notes in a fashion commensurate with their earning power, they believed that society should rescue them from their irresponsible choices.  Bernie lost the primary, their socialist ideals crumbled, and they turned to his opponent for consolation.

In the previous century, American citizens would have graciously accepted the election results and moved on with their lives.  Instead of raucous protest, they went back to raising their children and quietly making positive changes within their communities.  Generally, only a few kooks dove off the deep end to lead marches against the establishment.  In bygone days, none acted out like the maniacal banshees currently screaming at the heavens over their lost election.  This achieves nothing, but it demonstrates how foolishly self-involved they are in their attempts to derail this president.

Our new president's modus operandi continues to prick the softer psyches of the social justice warriors who insist on brutal intervention against those who do not agree with them.  They believe that Trump is taking us backward, but they do not realize how the previous administration was leading us into financial ruin, perpetual social unrest, and quite possibly a world war.  Their belief that the "popular vote" was more important than the Electoral College is a damning commentary on their ignorance.  The Founders understood the need for balance and fairness while extending inclusivity to a vast and diverse national population.  Now it is more critical than ever.

The media are largely to blame.  Their ideological hyperbole is like a plague that never quite disappears.  Frankly, I'm amazed that so many journalists have such little regard for truth-telling and for following the old journalistic code of honoring objectivity.  In many ways, it is akin to a physician's code of "do no harm."  But these media are doing harm by siding with any party.  Originally, they were intended to be watchdogs for our Republic – not opinion-generators or facilitators of rage.  Unfortunately, the left's "in your face" political pedanticism rages on, fueled by dishonesty and revenge.

Academics are the most seriously afflicted.  Many have morphed into disruptive archetypal leaders.  Simpering young progressives, coddled by their egotistical superiors, are propagating radical social engineering while provoking hatred against those who disagree.  Their ill conceived prejudices and selfish forms of social justice are twisted, relentless, and unforgiving.  Delighted with their egocentric superiority, they see themselves as overlords of the "peasant class."  Why?  It's because they possess an expensive education.  Such feudalistic attitudes have been rejected time and again over the millennia.  This is why Trump was elected.  By traditional definition, he is not a politician.  However, he is playing by the cutthroat rules invented by the left.  Ironically, leftists don't like the turnabout, stating that his attitudes are "unpresidential."

At the beginning of President Trump's administration, several friends informed me that if I supported the Republican Party or any of its ideals, our relationship would end.  I do not support, nor have I ever supported anyone based on religious, racial, or political affiliation.  Neither will I be intimidated.  My proposal is this: let's elect diverse leaders with common sense, who will put their countrymen first, demonstrating sympathy to others but only when Americans of all stripes regain an equal footing in their own nation.  Progressivism erodes the sand from beneath our feet.

As we have become painfully aware, social media are spectacularly effective at getting one's opinion published but have escalated the war.  Those who hurl their negative opinions across the internet are often unprincipled instigators of unrest.  Contributing nothing constructive, they trade in ignorant name-calling, taunts, and obscenities – no facts.  In the adult world, this is unacceptable.  Civil discussion is preferable to street fights.  This is a bloodless war, but nonetheless damaging to our national cohesion.

Faceless internet attacks are one thing, but personal attacks are quite another.  The incendiary rhetoric I've personally experienced is amusing but sad.  My main progressive demons are two people whom I formerly admired and loved.  One is an academic, now steeped in anti-American policy, while the other was my best friend of thirty-five years.  Both are blind to anything short of the deification of our previous commander-in-chief, plus both have an unfounded adoration for his female acolyte, who miserably lost the election due to her dishonest intentions.  The academic has unmitigated anger issues and teaches impressionable college students with Alinskyite precision.  Hiding behind the internet for over a year, these two have regularly lobbed hateful emotional bombs from various venues.  Do they honestly believe that these cowardly devices will succeed in changing the course of our nation or my mind?

To paraphrase Nelson Mandela as he expressed his state of mind when he left captivity: "[a]s I walked out of the prison gates toward freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be imprisoned."  Mandela was dedicated to forgiveness, which was his ultimate key to a lifetime of success and admiration.  My progressive friends' personal prisons are lamentable.  Perhaps they and their wayward army will eventually learn that guerrilla tactics are futile against staunchly rooted American exceptionalism.  It's all about choices, forgiveness, and working together toward positive outcomes.  We must pray that the new year of 2018 will provide balance, prosperity, and global peace.