Forget Trump, forget Harris, Forget Republicans, Forget Democrats...

This long standing division can be traced to one mighty factor, the pendulum swing of ‘past, present and future’.

Let me explain.

The current division between fossil fuels and new energy sources, between combustion and electric boils down to gearheads not wanting to give up the smell of gas. Meanwhile the pro-electric future fuels folks understand that fossil fuels are yesterday’s energy source, for vehicles, home heating and general industry needs.

It is a time of transition and there were/are battle lines drawn. It is hard for many to give up a way of life. If Dad worked on the vehicle production line and I grew up in it, why change?

Change is inevitable. It took the combustion engine to outshine the horse & buggy. Over time new power sources will replace today’s/yesterday’s fossil fuels.

Dig, dig, dig is the slogan of yesterday’s, not realizing there is only so far to drill, so little left for the future. Then, there is the pollution factor. Climate change is real and both sides realize this, while both sides argue over  semantics.

The powers in industry may realize the long term necessity of change, but the short term of high profits often blinds the pendulum picture.

• Republicans, early on, fought against changes in future well-being. Social Security was seen as an evil cost, taking  today’s money out of my pocket and that of my employer.

Over the decades, society realized that without a form of certain self-preservation, government intervention was necessary for the overall population.

Then came the argument over the math involved in supporting social security.

Who knew, as time went on ,changes in science and medicine would allow aging to advance. We were only supposed to live so long, but that early math along with changes in birth rates  contributed to long-term projection miscalculations.

Okay, so we have to increase the social security formula, but how to achieve this in a fair and equitable way is getting in the way of today’s politics.

• Foreign aid is a sticking issue. At what point do we ‘take care of ourselves before others’?

Early on the U.S. realized it was the shining light, the working democracy where anyone could advance. Millions became millionaires, if not millionaires, at least very comfortable with life.

The U.S. soon realized that to balance a world out of whack, it must provide some form of aid to those without. If, not, the divisions of entire cultures  grows with a type of jealousy. Wars are built upon the ‘haves and the have nots’.

• We became the envy of the world with wealth and technology. The desire to become an American overshadowed the risks, the abandonment of the past to achieve a part of the dram to millions. Thus, migration became the norm. 

Throw in political strife and climate change and all of a sudden the stream of migration becomes a river.

Immigration/migration unfortunately builds upon ultra-nationalism as the local population wants to keep language, customs, religion and yes, even skin color. This is not a U.S. problem, but is something we see throughout the world.

Throw in crime statistics, real, or imagined and the picture for ultra-nationalism comes into focus.

Unfortunately for some in this country, a fear arose of losing something, anything as the newly arrived began to succeed, posed a form of hatred, racism, whatever you want to call it.

• Health Care became a huge issue as Democrats envisioned a country proving the best and assured medical for all. Of course, the Republican side saw the downside and again the money out-of-pocket became an issue. Again, the fight was on! Bottom line is that without some form of Health Care, society begins to unwind.

• Abortion is as old as pregnancy. There are women who simply do not want to be pregnant for a variety of reason. So, who came first, the chicken or the egg?

Fact is that when abortion is outlawed, figures show it still occurs and more female deaths rise. Where there is a will,  there is a way, regardless of government/societal rules.

Leaving abortion laws to the states is proving detrimental and a dismal failure and a dividing issue.

• Education is also a dividing factor. Studies have shown that the percentage of Americans adhering to a more progressive society tend to vote Democrat, while non-college educated tend to lean to more conservative views.

Although these divisions are not necessarily firm, they are indicative of current politics.

• Undeniable changes in society are/were the result of faster communication. In older generations,news was delayed by time. It took days to learn what was happening across the country, throughout the world. During the Vietnam war this became evident as Americans watched the results of combat in almost real time. It changed the outcome, the politics of the nation. 

Today we have instant observation of events and conflicts within minutes. Something became very obvious beginning in the 1970s, 1980s and swelled in the 1990s.

The World Wide Web aka the Internet changed not only business, but  personal and government existence as computer savvy populations adapted to the new world order.

News and the spreading of rumors, innuendos, began defining and giving a sense of power to the individual. It was used for both good and bad actors and both built and destroyed.

So, do we stand still and live for yesterday/today, or do we think ahead an envision a better progressive future?

In a divided population the short-term, the conservative nature in us may endure, but it is only a matter of time before the reality, such as climbing climate change, migration and the betterment of existence wins out. 

This week we are on the precipice of knowing the near future. Regardless of the outcome, change is inevitable.