A police shooting in Baton Rough: is country coming unhinged?

Maintaining an orderly society is contingent upon people obeying the laws. Police and other law enforcement authorities bear the brunt of enforcing the law on the ground but it’s the politicians who make those laws and provide the support that law enforcement needs to get the job done. Sometimes that support calls for enacting new and tougher laws which won’t be easy in an era of political paralysis. Ensuring public safety becomes much harder in a political season when so many of the leading candidates thrive on an “us versus them” mentality.

“Yes there is class warfare in America but it’s not between the rich and poor” wrote Mark Hendrickson an adjunct professor of economics at Grove City College in an op-ed piece he penned for Forbes. “It’s between the political class and the rest of the citizenry who bear the brunt of political power and pay the price in lost liberty property and opportunity.”

Bernie Sanders may have been one of the worst offenders in the way he resuscitated the class warfare debate of the 1960s. His mantra that corporate greed destroyed the middle class raised passions in an unhealthy way by appealing to voters’ baser instincts including fear and suspicion. This was in contrast to a candidate such as Marco Rubio who never gained traction but consistently spoke about the need to upgrade and tailor education and job creation to the opportunities of the 21st century.

Like Sanders Hillary Clinton also seeks to stir up the voters’ grievances. On the campaign trail she vows that “Wall Street should never be allowed to once again threaten Main Street” — pitting one side against the other. Yet in the four years since leaving her post as secretary of state the Wall Street Journal reports that Clinton has earned nearly $22 million in speaking fees $4.1 million of which came from the same big banks and brokerage firms she bashes on Main Street. Further according to US News and World Report almost $16 million of the $22 million has come from groups that have lobbied Congress or the federal government during that same period.

Last but not least Donald Trump bears his fair share of blame for aggravating the situation. He has used mockery to beat down his opponents and tapped into voter anger and disenfranchisement in much the way that Bernie Sanders has. Trump wouldn’t be where he is today without having played the role of an agitator to the hilt. The broader electorate will be the final arbiters on whether they can overlook Trump’s personality flaws and if they deem his proposals to make America great again attractive.

But no matter who becomes the next president of the United States that person will most likely be incapable of healing the sore and open wounds that plague America.