Commentary

Klar: America’s brotherly love crisis

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Why is the nation becoming more uncivil?

by John Klar

The widening political divide in America is ripping apart the social fabric that has historically guided the nation. The country has experienced division before, as seen in the Civil War and the Vietnam War. The current rift threatens to worsen before healing and reconciliation can begin. A recent study reveals the disconnect between what Americans say they want and what they actually do.

We conservatives tend to perceive ourselves as victims of a barrage of slanders and stereotyping at odds with our values, launched in social justice volleys by a hypocritical far-left extremism that preaches tolerance and love while inflicting the opposite. Americans on the left feel they are the victims of labels of snowflake and soyboy, and that such pejorative monikers are undeserved.

A comprehensive poll of 3,000 U.S. adults titled “The Civility Paradox” reveals that both sides of the political aisle perceive themselves as civil and the other side as agitators. This reflects human nature, recalling the scriptural admonition to withdraw the log from one’s own eye rather than focus on the twig in another’s. (Matthew 7:5)

The landmark poll reflects a bitterly splintered American social landscape in which “…individuals overwhelmingly see themselves as civil and respectful, [but] only 26% believe society itself feels civil.” Two-thirds of respondents reported experiencing negative mental health impacts from incivility. How much are we sin-cursed humans our own worst enemies?

The survey’s findings are alarming, but hardly surprising – especially in view of the acrimonious national wrangling following the appalling murder of Charlie Kirk. The celebration of Kirk’s death by thousands of left-leaning Democrats was more visceral and appalling than the physical act itself. A moral/spiritual deterioration is afoot: the rage-hate witnessed is not merely one actor; it is a contagion spawned by Baal or Moloch.

The Civility Paradox poll revealed some interesting demographic disparities. Gen Z, whites, liberals, and LGBTQ+ respondents were more likely to say they experienced negative impacts on their mental health from incivility, whereas blacks and asian Americans reported greater resilience. Boomers were more likely to say that incivility has increased in the past year than Gen Z. Additionally, Boomers (71%) and Gen X (70%) are more likely to view the problem as one of individual responsibility than Gen Z (48%).

This latter disparity may reflect the penchant for today’s young to expect (Marxist?) government to solve all problems via increased state domination. Americans widely viewed the problem as common, but themselves as exempt: 90% said people are quick to judge others, 86% said people are focused on winning arguments, and 80% said people are more self-centered than they used to be. At the same time, 80% reported they can ask questions to clarify perspective, 77% say they can clearly express their point of view without disparaging others, and 66% say they employ collaboration or compromise to handle conflict.

This sociological paradox affirms the biblical admonition against hypocrisy couched in a metaphor of logs and sticks. However, I suggest that the problem is not reflected equally on both sides of the political aisle. Democrats demand obedience to their identity politics and tribalism on pain of cancellation, shaming, ending relationships, or labeling silence as violent. They wave rainbow flags on inclusion while stereotyping people based solely on skin color and excluding as fascists anyone who does not bow to their uniparty’s ideology.

Conservatives allow individuals to vote for whomever they wish, and do not tremble in irrepresible fury at the name of the president. They do not believe the “system” has denied them a fair shake, nor do they expect everything to be rosy in life. They understand that capitalism is indeed imperfect, but that communism is a far worse alternative.

This is a healthier – and more civil – worldview than the far-left extremism that applauds murder, rioting, shoplifting, and rampant physical assaults against those who dare express opinions that deviate from their deviance. The Civility Paradox survey found that 57% of Americans report they’ve held back their honest opinions in the past year to avoid conflict, and 35% said they don’t feel safe sharing their honest opinions on social media – that’s surely not a common restraint for social justice “warriors.”

The cause of America’s growing political divide must be laid squarely at the feet of those suffering most as a consequence – the self-immolating, Tylenol-gobbling, Tesla-keying, nose-ringed cadre of screaming meanies that complain that everyone else is mean to them. The log-eyed left howls at the twig-eyed right, but studies show consistently that it is the godless, Wiccan, Satanic crowd that is sacrificing itself on the altar of the social justice cult.

This sickness caused by left-wing extremism is statistically measurable:

“A March 2023 commentary by sociologist Musa al-Gharbi concluded that “it’s a scientific fact that conservatives tend to be happier and more well-adjusted than liberals, and ideological gaps in well-being have expanded since 2011.” …Thus, the root causes of TDS might not be political at all, but rather a side effect of the core worldview and mental state that leads to a leftist alignment.”

There is no civility paradox: the Left is simply more uncivil.

The author is a Brookfield best-selling author, lawyer, farmer and pastor.

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Categories: Commentary, Society & Culture

13 replies »

    • Very well explained Mr Klar. The exception being those that are Wiccan. Wiccans are healers and empaths. They care for others and Mother Earth. Just because they don’t embrace your God definitely does not mean they embrace Satan. There is actually no Satan like figure in Wicca. Satanic actions are totally opposite of what Wiccans embrace. Peace, Love, helping others and caring for Mother Earth are their main beliefs. Please learn about Wiccans before you condemn them. You would and do have them on your side.

  2. Very concise explanation, Mr. Klar…thank you.
    If I may loosely paraphrase a recent comment from Dennis Prager:
    If there is an issue that divides the right and the left, the person on the right thinks the person on the left is wrong, while the person on the left thinks the person on the right is evil…
    And those on the hard left, using their twisted concept of the “microaggression” conflate speech with evil and violence creating a justification to respond with evil and violence. Freedom of Expression, (and most of the rest of the Bill of Rights) means nothing to leftists, despite their howls about “threats to democracy”…

  3. Wow!!! 3,000 americans were polled online! Definitely a landmark achievement! I don’t think there is a place on the internet where 3,000 americans of such a voluminous collection of diverse backgrounds (gen Z, X, Boomers, gay, straight, liberal, conservative, etc.) have ever convened to respond to an online questionaire with such truth and accuracy. And those 3,000 americans, which accounts for .0008% of the American population, definitely speak for the remaining 99.0002% of the population! thank you, mr klar, for letting us know how these result define “the sickness caused by left-wing extremism.”

    I’d ante $1,000 to say that Klar would not agree that EVERY poll of 3,000 americans is indicative of the entire nations.

    For a moment there I thought it was more uncivil to say, as Trump did, “Chicago Mayor should be in jail! Governor Pritzker also!” that was causing a sickness among the moral well being of our nation. Such a fool as I to think that we should allow the governor of a state to have jurisdiction over the state to determine whether or not their state is “burning to the ground!” as republicans have claimed. Clearly republicans in Washington know when democrat governors are out of line and need to be in jail.

    Thank God for these 3,000 americans who responded to an online poll!!!!!

    To extrapolate on the poll, it must be fair to say that democrat governors know nothing about safety. The republican trump regime, however, knows best! And this poll, of .0008% diverse americans confirms as such. We should lean on the Civility Paradox not for its nebulous title, but for its merits!!!! .0008% of americans is comprehensive enough for a VDC article defining the cultural landscape of America.

    Lastly, it is good to know that Klar only needs 3,000 americans polled online to come to grips with where American stand on country-wide issues. That is certainly a high bar to get over! Thanks, Jon, for exposing the truth among the entire United States! Truly an achievement of unbiased analysis of our nation.

  4. Thank you John I agree with your points but contend it really started with the everybody gets a trophy back in the 80’s. These adults who have trophies that they didn’t earn now believe they deserve a paycheck without working for it. No personal responsibility required.

    • Thankfully, our current President and his allies in Congress are trying to restore the forgotten concept of “personal responsibility” which has been so damaged by left wing ideology with their “everyone gets a trophy” mentality and their claims that everything you need to live a comfortable existence is a “human right” and must be provided by the heavy hand of government taking from some and giving to others at the point of a gun…if you dont pay your taxes, men with guns will come to your house.

  5. I hang in the middle…friends on both sides. The deep state – whatever and whoever that is – is thrilled about articles like this. Keeping us at each other, pointing fingers, blaming “the other side” for all our problems, etc. As long as they can keep that type of vitriol in high gear on both sides, they can continue behind the curtain with their push toward the digital control grid, which will turn us all into digital slaves, regardless of what our party affiliation is. We need to come together to fight the real enemy of our freedom.

  7. I had a lot of respect for you Mr. Klar until you wrote that all flatlanders should die in the next catastrophe. Maybe you don’t remember writing that. I moved here from another farm state. I promote literacy, the value of history, and beauty. Unfortunately I have been socially trashed by those who own more stuff than I do. I cook for a living and still can’t get a man to take me out to dinner and a show. Where is Bing Crosby when I need him?

  8. The Civility Paradox is Sodom and Gomorrah, Babylon, and the Roman Empire – nothing new under the sun. Coincidences? I don’t think so. The final chapter is unfolding – chapter by chapter it references all the warnings and all the signs – all the way from the garden and back again. Why do they persecute believers if it is not so? One cannot logically reason something claimed not real is deemed a real threat, a real enemy? Yet it is and that speaks volumes in these end of times. The Truth is within the scriptures that are glossed over, edited, twisted to meet a narrative, debated into falsehoods, or completely ignored. The treacherous dealer – sent a strong delusion so they believe in a lie – strikes me as spot on. The Satanists/Luciferians utilize the Word to advance their agendas – it should be evident by their actions and their words. Yet, many believers don’t believe such evil exists or it is not so – no matter the evidence and the Scripture shoved right into their faces.

    1 Thessalonians 5:3
    For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

  10. John, I have been a big fan of yours for a long time. When I started reading this piece, I was anticipating agreeing 100% with your statements on civility, etc. However, unlike what I thought I understood about you, it seems that you were taking results of one small poll to use as a jumping off point to make some generalizations that kept getting more and more biased. Your sweeping statements about segments of the population are exactly the kind of thing that perpetuates this division that you are decrying.

    I am someone who comes from the progressive Left. I have never been a “left-wing extremist” by any means, but I am old enough to understand the origins of what has morphed into the twisted logic of today’s “Far Left”. Since Covid, a great shift in me has taken place and I no longer identify as a progressive Democrat or am in alignment with most of stated apparent policies and philosophies of the current Left. However, while I’ve shifted a great deal toward the right, I consider myself a proud Independent, both politically and philosophically. I have honed my critical thinking and observation skills, and I am LISTENING very intently to what I hear from both the Left and the Right.

    And what I hear is pretty well identical: each side bashing the other, often with the exact same words, phrases, and epithets. I have learned that the mainstream media is completely captured, presumably by corporate influence, and the mouthpieces seem to truly believe the lies they say. As I’ve said before in this forum, nobody is LISTENING to anybody else. I am a huge fan of RFKjr, and he is certainly an example of someone who is slammed and slandered repeatedly, but nobody is listening to what he is ACTUALLY saying or engaging him in any kind of intelligent debate, just bashing. I have never been a fan of Trump, but I am so grateful for his appointing Kennedy to this important position. Because of this, I’m giving him a bit more slack. However, I DO blame the current lack of civility in this country on his very nasty, uncivil characterizations of “others” that he began publicly in 2015, and has continued to this day in several ways. I watched the change in society when this public figure made it OK to be a bully. IMO, he unleashed this ongoing wave of bullying and name-calling by so many, but especially, in my observation, from the Right. And for every action is a reaction, and THAT is largely responsible for the Left’s evolution of ever-increasing political correctness gone wild.

    So, what we have are groups of people trying to be nastier than those who are nasty to them. And NOBODY IS LISTENING to anybody else! The characterizations that you object to on the far Left have been the result of great exacerbation by the co-optation by corporate interests in the name of “protecting” or supporting those who have been historically badly bullied and marginalized. It’s become trendy to be trans, for instance, and the support services (e.g., medical procedures) for this have been capitalizing happily on this complicated socio-psychological phenomenon in the name of empathy.

    John, I was very disappointed to hear your usually thoughtful, insightful prose lapse into what is essentially name-calling, concluding with , “There is no civility paradox: the Left is simply more uncivil.” For many years, I strongly believed the opposite of this, and could have provided many examples. I now see it on both sides equally.

    Among all the many wonderful things you are, you are a pastor, right? Somehow, I would think you could see past stereotyping groups of people to see that so many are coming from places of deep hurt. Both sides. The bullied become the bullies. It is a self-perpetuating vicious cycle. Can’t you see that?