2020 will be a pivotal year in the United States. With the current political climate of radicals on both sides of the spectrum, we could see the most important election in American history unfold. This election could change the narrative of the United States and define what our country will become. With tensions between conservatives and liberals at all-time high, we face the possibility of a new Civil War, depending on the outcome of the election.

The Democratic party has gone radically left, advocating for the kind of socialism seen in failed countries such as Venezuela, where people have to wait in line for toilet paper, or the former USSR where it takes over 6 months to get a car. They argue for Medicare for all, which would take away the freedom of choice afforded through private health care. In addition, many advocate a forced political correctness; for example, in Berkeley California you can be arrested for saying “manhole” or other words that are gender specific, a clear  violation of the 1st Amendment of the Constitution. Democrats seem to be pushing us toward a “Nanny State,” which means that they deem the public is unfit to be able to make choices for themselves.

On the Right we have the Conservative Republican party that is trying to preserve the Republic and keep the United States as a small government working on protecting the rights of its people and preserving our system for generations to come. They are against  Medicare for all, especially if it costs nearly 3 trillion dollars in extra tax money each year. On the Right, politicians are invested in examining the specifics of the gun control debate, rather than indulging in a blanket knee-jerk response. They know the fact that 94% of crimes are committed by illegally obtained firearms, and if guns are taken from law abiding citizens, they’ll have to rely solely on unreliable police support. That does not explain why we will have a Civil War though.

If the Democrats win it could drive the Republicans away from the country and cause an outbreak of  Civil War. Some people believe that the Civil War will be one-sided because the Republicans tend to own the majority of fire arms, but this would not be the case. Sure, the conservatives might own the majority of firearms in America, but the left is much more quick to violence. A Civil War would be one the bloodiest conflicts in human history. With family turning against family due to different political ideology.

Moreover, a new Civil War would  break us into more than a Federal Government vs the Confederate states, like the original Civil War. It’s likely  that the US federal government will collapse and cause many different warring factions to gain access to military grade  equipment and firearms. The primary factions are to likely be Republicans, Democrats, Remnants of the Federal Government, Communists, and Neo-Nazis, with small groups appearing and disappearing as fighting goes on. The minimum casualty count will probably be in the tens of millions of lives lost, and everyone would somehow be affected.

This war could not only be the deadliest war in American history, but one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. The world can not afford for the United States to break into a 2nd Civil War. To avoid this conflict we need to come together as a people and take a stand against the radicals on both sides. We also need to hold all of Washington responsible and force out career politicians by placing term limits on all elected offices, not just the president. We must get rid of corruption and unite ourselves before it is to late.

Chris Konstantinou, a senior at Lafayette high school believes that “if there was a second Civil War there would be at least 10,000 casualties and at most 50,000 due to the fact that the federal government having minimal states of influence has one of the most high tech and efficiently operated military because of constant funding since 9/11.”

Colton Ruby, LHS Senior and a future US Marine, has this take on a new Civil War, ” My first allegiance would be to the US Constitution and the people of the United states and I would never follow an order that violated the US Constitution.” He went on to say, ” I think a lot of people are misinformed and are very passionate about what we belive, but we need to work out our problems before resorting to violence.”