Yes It Is, It’s True: Our national debate has gotten troubling

“Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of eldeberries… Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time.” — Monty Python, “The Holy Grail.

One of the better comedic films of the last 25 years is “Citizen Ruth,” a striking take on the abortion debate. Laura Dern stars as “Ruth,” a young woman druggie who gets pregnant and seeks information about whether she should seek to terminate further fetal development or carry the child to term.

Laura becomes the cause celebre of the Pro-Life movement, which takes her under their wing and encourages her to have the child. However, the Pro-Choice forces manage to kidnap Ruth and place her in a home in the community. What ensues is a classic physical battle between the two factions.

Meanwhile, near the end of the movie, Ruth has a miscarriage and at the same time the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice warriors are engaged in struggle, she slips out the back door.

I bring this up because I fear too much of the ongoing war between the Pro-Trump and Anti-Trump forces deteriorates into a futile exercise that is looks a lot more like playground taunting than serious political discourse. This war, of course, is played out daily on Facebook between liberals and conservatives, between red and blue.

And if you haven’t come to understand this country has become seriously divided on political and social issues, you haven’t been paying attention. A divided nation in the United States indeed has existed for decades now, and the presidency of Donald Trump has only brought our long-standing differences to the front burner. As I have said often, Trump is the symptom, he is not the disease.

When I peruse Facebook every day, I notice both sides using superficial and sometimes childish insults against their opponents. Some are merely trying to be amusing, but the clear intent is to humiliate or denigrate the other side.

Before Trump came along, I saw too many depictions of Barack Obama as a stupid man of color, using old stereotypes from films and cartoons from long ago. Since Trump has arrived on the scene, I’ve seen a lot of cartoonish representations of Trump, making fun of his appearance.

Meanwhile, one of the most disgusting memes was a grossly unflattering pictoral of Hillary Clinton that included a snake coming out of her eye. I am no fan of Hillary, but she is a human being, and when we stoop so low, it says something about who we really are.

Some will point out rightly that we Americans have been harsh on our rivals, too often reducing our war opponents to subhuman characters. During World War I we called the Germans “The Huns,” and were quick to describe their actions as barbarous. During World War II we were particularly nasty to “The Japs,” with even Dr. Seuss drawing them with slanted eyes and appearing villainous. Max Fleisher made a Popeye Cartoon that showed the hero teaming up with Bluto, feeding him spinach, to beat up those Japs.

But now we Americans are treating fellow citizens as enemies, a practice that in the future just might make it impossible for us to come together united in a common cause. It’s a lot like choosing sides between Michigan and Ohio State in football, lacking the realization that the other side includes humans as well. Don’t forget Detroit Lions linebacker Chris Spielman was a Buckeye.

It is my humble opinion that this country never did get over the Civil War more than 150 years ago. We never healed our wounds, which ran deep over the issues of race and slavery.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” — Abraham Lincoln