Casualties of the Civil War
by Anne Doherty
Anyone who is paying attention and over age 40 would likely agree with the statement that the United States is engaged in a cold Civil War. I say over 40 because people in their 30s are Millennials, and those Millennial age and younger have had such poor history education that they might not be able to spot a Civil War when they see one.
One thing that makes this period of history a war is the number of casualties. Even Millennials are starting to feel the threats to their future and their livelihood. However, the fact that so many Americans have died since 2020 and even a few years before that is astounding.
Some victims are obvious, with Ashley Babbitt, Rosanne Boyland, and the J6 prisoners being easiest to recognize as victims of a political attack. That one Capitol Police officer and another D.C. Metropolitan police officer died by suicide within days of January 6 is notable. Victims of Covid 19 and/or the multiple shots and boosters also come to mind, especially if you view the lockdowns as unnecessary and the vaccines as prematurely tested on the public. If you believe that Covid 19 was introduced to the world by the Chinese as a kind of bio-war test, the number of casualties, really fatalities, sky-rockets to 1,127,258, in the US, according to the World Health Organization.
Most victims are less obvious. “From 2011 to 2022, over half a million lives (539,810) were lost to suicide, with 2022 showing the highest number of deaths on record. Within this period, the adjusted suicide rate increased by 16%.” (KFF.org) According to the CDC, suicide rates significantly increased between 2020 and 2021 for males aged 15–24, 25–44, 65–74, and 75 and over. (So…all men except those between 45 and 65.) From 2020 to 2021, suicide rates increased significantly for non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White females. From 2020 to 2021, suicide rates increased significantly for non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and White males."(cdc.gov)
The reason that so many would take their lives made some sense during Covid. The fear, confusion, isolation and disruption of the economy would naturally have exacerbated depression in the vulnerable. However, the suicide rate was rising before that. Would it not be true that the following are also factors? 1) The attack on traditional gender identity, 2) the perception of toxic masculinity, and 3) the disproportionate rise in housing and gasoline costs to actual wages (meaning it’s difficult to live independently, let alone marry and have children). Add in what Europeans call the Climate “Crisis.” The despair that comes with believing the world will end in 25 Page 5 years may have killed few, but in fact has handicapped many. The fact that the bureaucracy has been pushing that narrative for far longer than 25 years escapes most people, especially the under 40 crowd who accept this hope quelling “Crisis” as fact.
Also among the casualties are those whose lives have been turned upside down because they’ve been cancelled or wrongfully accused. I know several people who have been let go from their jobs just because someone randomly accused them of racism or sexism or, for that matter, voting Republican. To be wrongfully fired feels like being shot in the leg. It takes a while to heal from the trauma and shock of the accusation, and then one must face up to a less bright future than before.
Two generations have been wounded from the lies and indoctrination our children have been exposed to. That a man could actually become a woman or vice versa is a lie so great that Stalin or Hitler would have been afraid to float it. If anything proves that we’re in a war, it’s that statement. The people who believe it or say they do are offered a seeming protection from the Left for supporting the lie. The people who don’t are shunned, cancelled or ostracized.Their sanity is questioned. In short, they are taken out, just like soldiers on the front line.
This war is unlike any other in that, even though there are sides, it’s hard to know who the enemy really is. That’s how totalitarianism works; it’s a system that outlaws individual or group opposition to the ruling party. It’s a system that asks individuals to uphold big lies. It wounds, but only indirectly takes credit.