America Divided Split Cut:

Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Matthew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Mark 3:24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Luke 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

Luke 12:53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

The US Government has become politically divided and is in discord and disunity. The political division affecting and splitting America is a direct result of its efforts to ‘divide Jerusalem’ via the ‘Deal of the Century’ or the regional covenant of peace and security in the Middle East. Throughout scripture, God has made it abundantly clear that Jerusalem is the ‘apple of his eye’ and has his stamp of ownership on it … above all other cities on earth. God makes it adequately clear in Zechariah 12:3 that any nation that attempts to cut or divide up Jerusalem, will themselves be cut up or divided. As such, the US is cut or divided politically because of its leadership role in attempting to split God’s Holy City of earthly Jerusalem. Plain and simple.

OK. So it’s clear about the accelerating implosion of political unity in the US. Political discord will get worse and become angrier, antagonistic, confrontational, and hateful with little to no compromise, concession, agreement or unity. Contempt and distrust rules the day. Some would say this is already the case not only between Democrats and Republicans, but also within each party. Whether you believe the US being extremely divided is a result of God’s wrath for its role in dividing Jerusalem or not, it doesn’t matter. The fact remains that the US is becoming bitterly more and more divided. This division has also taken place in culture (LGBTQP+ social inclusiveness agenda), economics (income inequality), etc. The list can go on. America is divided on so many levels, not just politically.

America Divided, Split, Cut: Democrat or Republican, Americans are angry, frustrated and overwhelmed.

October 30, 2019 The Conversation

As the country looks ahead to President Donald Trump’s possible impeachment proceedings, as social scientists, we anticipate that not only will the Americans’ opinions be polarized, but so will their emotions.

Based on our research, we believe that impeachment stories will likely feel increasingly more personal, passionate and irritating to people as the proceedings unfold. For some, this will draw them in, while others will likely turn off from the news.

During Trump’s first 10 months in office, we conducted 71 interviews in the greater metropolitan areas of Chicago, Miami and Philadelphia, seeking to understand media consumption habits.

Participants in our study, published on Sept. 25, 2019 were a cross-section of Americans, diverse in terms of age, gender, race, ethnicity, ideological orientation and occupation.

In talking to these Americans, we were immediately struck by their emotional reactions to stories about Trump. There is scarce literature that explores the emotional dimension of reading the news. Our study indicated that voters on both sides of the aisle felt “inundated” by three particular emotions: anger, frustration and an overall feeling of being overwhelmed.

The people we interviewed told us that this heightened emotional experience rose during the 2016 campaign and its aftermath, affecting their media habits in different ways.

For instance, Fiona, a 50-year-old librarian, said, “I find that after Trump was elected, it is harder to read the news, for me.”

Same emotions, different reasons

While the feelings were shared across interviewees, the causes of these emotions split down party lines.

While liberals were usually upset about Trump’s statements and policies, conservatives experienced similar emotions about how negatively the mainstream media covered news related to the president.

For example, an 80-year-old Democrat who is a community organizer said that his most recent news consumption was focused on “that two-week juvenile that we have for president.” He added: “Sometimes I just get so disgusted with [the news] that I don’t even want to know much more about it.”

Meanwhile, a 51-year-old Republican homemaker said she was upset at the media.

“I see beyond whether I like how [Trump] talks or what he says,” she told us. “What they are showing [on CNN] I think it’s so wrong that it makes me feel very angry.”

Our study also showed that consuming political news on social media, rather than via the news media, intensified the emotional experience. According to their accounts, this was partially due to social media’s personal component: acquaintances sharing and commenting on news stories.

A 33-year-old paralegal commented that, after the 2016 electoral cycle, he reduced his exposure to Facebook and Instagram. Posts about the news got “a little too toxic for me,” he said, since other people wanted to “play devil’s advocate or spark a fire.”

Dealing with high levels of emotion

Common forms of dealing with these negative emotions included closely selecting what news to hear, reducing the time devoted to news or even avoiding the news completely.

News avoidance has been on the rise in the United States. According to a report from the University of Oxford, while 38% of Americans said they sometimes or often avoided the news in 2017, that figure grew to 41% in 2019. That’s above the global average of 32% for that year.

However, consistent with prior research, some Americans reported that being informed and participating in conversations with friends was beneficial to them and gave them the sense of fulfilling their civic duty. “I enjoy knowing what’s going on, and I think it’s part of being a voter,” said a 25-year-old schoolteacher.

Our study highlights the importance of developing empathy and understanding the ways in which their communication has strong emotional impact in people’s everyday life.

Although some participants want to participate in politics more actively as a result of feeling upset about the current political situation, many others expressed a need to protect themselves.

Because an emotionally polarized public opinion might discourage citizens from different forms of civic engagement, to us, an angry and overwhelmed citizenry does not seem a good recipe for a healthy democracy.