Civil War in the United States?

There was no need for the renowned American journalist Tucker Carlson to warn about the likelihood of a civil war in the United States to confirm the increasingly intense confrontation between opposing forces within the country — and the probability that, if catastrophe strikes, it will be even bloodier than any conflict with a foreign adversary.

One in five Americans is Latino, and they are part of a population that has fewer things in common with itself and among its members than ever before.

In this context, there is great danger in Donald Trump’s decision to label — without any evidence — the Antifa movement, clearly anti-fascist in nature, as a terrorist organization, while encouraging the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to act with complete impunity.

Indeed, the U.S. population has less in common with itself and among its citizens than at any other point in history — and not only in terms of racial diversity.

Returning to Carlson, a journalist from the far-right who later evolved toward more progressive stances, he blames those who, “for forty years, did nothing to solve this issue.” He added, “It’s pathetic. It’s politics for the rich. It doesn’t actually mean anything. It’s just ornamentation. It’s political jewelry. It’s a bumper sticker. It’s not a national identity. And it’s not enough to keep your country together.”

A MOCKERY

Until just a few hours ago, Donald Trump was almost in tears because he was not awarded the highly discredited Nobel Peace Prize — which he claimed to deserve for ending seven wars (directly or indirectly sponsored by the United States) and for brokering a peace agreement between Hamas and Israel, after the Israeli army had killed more than 67,000 Palestinians using American weapons and ammunition.

The farce reached the point of absurdity when Trump alleged that political motives led to the already tainted award being given to María Corina Machado — a figure who has openly called for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, something that could happen at any moment.

The fiery former president, however, seemed unfazed — that’s what he has “Marquito” for. He turned once again to domestic affairs, now threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the U.S. military in cities he claims must be saved from crime.

Meanwhile, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, denounced the president for ordering the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago, drawing a parallel between Trump’s policies and “the early days of the Nazi regime.”

Chicago’s Mayor, Brandon Johnson, joined in, asserting that the president’s words indicate that “he wants to occupy our city and tear apart our Constitution.”

At the end of September, Trump ordered the Department of Defense to send “all necessary troops” to Portland, Oregon, to secure the city and protect ICE personnel.

Violence against ICE is rising across the United States amid public discontent over Trump’s immigration policies and mass deportations. Protests have resulted in injuries and even deaths, while Washington continues to intensify its anti-immigrant measures.

RESEMBLANCE?

For many, current events bear a striking resemblance to the narrative depicted in the American film Civil War, which was featured and analyzed shortly after its 2024 release by journalist Jorge Legañoa on Sólo la verdad, broadcast by Cubavisión.

The film’s plot revolves around a civil war in the United States between an authoritarian federal government — led by a president in his third term — and three secessionist movements. Although the president claims that victory is imminent, Washington, D.C., is expected to soon fall to the “Western Forces” led by Texas and California.

After surviving a suicide bombing in New York City, veteran war photographer Lee Smith and her Reuters colleague Joel meet their mentor Sammy, a reporter for The New York Times, to share their plan to interview the isolated president. Despite Sammy’s attempts to dissuade them from traveling to the capital, he joins them on their journey to the front lines in Charlottesville, Virginia. The next day, Lee discovers that Joel has allowed Jessie Collin, a young aspiring photojournalist, to join their group.

Sammy dies saving his companions, and Lee is later killed inside the White House while pushing Jessie to safety. Jessie, expressionless, continues toward the Oval Office, watching as soldiers drag the president from beneath his desk and prepare to execute him. Joel briefly stops them to get a quote from the president, who pleads, “Don’t let them kill me.” Satisfied, Joel steps aside as the soldiers carry out the execution, and Jessie photographs the Air Force troops posing with the president’s body.

Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: “With the precision and length of its violent battle sequences, it’s clear that Civil War functions as a wake-up call. Garland wrote the film in 2020 (at the end of Trump’s first term), as he watched the self-mythologizing machinery of American exceptionalism driving the nation into a nightmare. With this final film, he sounds the alarm — less about how a country blindly walks into its own destruction, and more about what happens once it does.”

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times echoed that sentiment, stating: “I’ve rarely seen a film that made me feel so uncomfortable, or an actress’s face — like Kirsten Dunst’s (Lee) — express the sickness of a nation’s soul so vividly that it felt like an X-ray.”

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque / CubaSí Translation Staff