View from the USA: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

By Megan Kovach

Abraham Lincoln declared this truth on a June summer day in Springfield, Illinois during his speech at the Republican State Convention in 1865.  Over 150 years later, I can’t think of any wiser words that apply to the current state of America.

As I took off from Heathrow Airport and traveled back to my home state of Florida on Election Day, I began to contemplate what the future of my country was going to look like.  During my 14-hour flight with no cell phone service or access to the news, I spent the time slowly counting down the hours, curious of what kind of America I would arrive in.

As someone who grew up in a conservative sometimes red, but notorious swing state, God, family, freedom and football, with the occasional Bud Light beer were the ideals upon which I was raised. Growing up in this environment made me better able to understand the rationale behind the support and adoration many Southern Republicans share for President Donald Trump.

A typical stroll in Florida would see an American flag waving high on every street corner, Trump signs firmly stamped on front lawns, and a ‘MAGA’ bumper sticker glued onto what is most likely the back of a Ford F-150 pick-up truck.

However, after spending the last two and a half years living abroad in London, one of the most international, progressive cities in the world, I was beginning to change my worldview and perspective on politics.  I witnessed first-hand the beauty that diversity and international cultures bring together and developed a deep understanding for immigration, as I for one became an immigrant myself to a foreign country in pursuit of my dreams.  

When I landed in Florida last Wednesday night, I noticed a wave of fear begin to creep over me.   Not a fear of the rising COVID-19 cases or which candidate would win the presidential race, I was afraid of what America’s reaction would be at the end of this election.

On my way home, I drove past small business and store owners who boarded up their windows and chained down their doors in fear of the riots and protests that could erupt off the back of the presidential results.  I listened to people at the airport talk about purchasing guns and food rationales in preparation for a civil war outbreak that was in the making in my country.

War, Riots, Guns…. what was America turning into? I asked myself.  

Regardless of presidential preferences or political agendas, there is no question that a deep divide unlike anything I’ve ever experienced exists in the ‘United’ States.  The left hates the right, Republicans are against Democrats, and there are no signs of compromise or middle ground. It’s us vs them and you versus me. Politics has turned personal in the United States of America.

To make matters worse, on top of a global pandemic, the media here does nothing to help mitigate the situation or to help diffuse any of these political bombs. In fact, they are doing quite the opposite, but that’s another topic for discussion! 

Sometimes I think at this point, maybe Kanye West would have been the best presidential choice, just so we could avoid the division that dominates America today. It certainly fits the bill of an upside-down year that’s been 2020.

Perhaps this separation has gone on for years in the US and I just never noticed because I was away in another country, but it is very sad to see America – the land of the free and home of the brave - foster such an environment of conflict and discord.

We can sit here pointing fingers all day long at both parties for being at fault.   Accuse the Democrats for ‘rigging the election’ and cheating with ‘voter fraud’, or that Donald Trump and his Twitter account spearheaded this divide, but what will we accomplish as a nation if we continue blaming people, parties and politics instead of being an example of change?

I have best friends who work for the Democratic party and family who lobbies the Senate on behalf of the Republicans. My sister spent last week working the polls and supports Joe Biden while a MAGA hat sits on my family’s kitchen countertop.

Just because someone disagrees with you politically doesn’t make them the enemy.

It is my hope and prayer that America turns a new corner in January 2021, where We the People practice true diplomacy and find ways to understand and respect both parties, while still clinging to our freedom that we so quickly forget is a privilege in and of itself. 

With Trump in office, know that we have a President who will fight and go to any length to defend and protect what he thinks is right for America.  If Joe Biden and Kamala Harris continue their victory in the race, celebrate the fact that for the first time in American history, we have a woman of color in Office.

Even if you aren’t a Democrat, our children will grow up in a country never knowing what the White House looked like without the possibility of a female VP.

Instead, if we continue facilitating a spirit of disunity and division, we will accomplish nothing as a nation, and our forefathers wanted more for us than that.