He added that our dangers are not in our differences. We talk about what divides us and seldom acknowledge what unites us. We brush aside the possibility that a person with whom we disagree might be right. We scorch our opponents with language that precludes compromise. We practice suspicion or contempt where trust is needed, imposing a sentence of anger and loneliness on others and ourselves. All the armies of the world could not crush us, he maintained, but we could still вЂњdie by suicideвЂќДЄnd now, today, we look around. Lincoln warned that the greatest danger to the nation came from within. Hearkening back to Abraham LincolnвЂ™s prescient warnings before the Civil War, Mattis said this: Writing in The Atlantic, former secretary of defense, James Mattis, one of our nationвЂ™s greatest living generals, sounded a clear alarm. IвЂ™m not the only one concerned that the chief threat to America doesnвЂ™t come from a foreign foe or a policy proposal, but rather through our deep polarization. As I said in the podcast, this danger is so plain that itвЂ™s like weвЂ™re on the deck of the Titanic yelling, вЂњIceberg, iceberg, iceberg!вЂќ and no one is listening. There would be enormous pressure on multiple blue-state governors to reject the results and resist federal authority. As I outlined in a recent Dispatch Podcast, there is an easily foreseeable potential constitutional crisis that could strain this nation to the breaking point-suppose that Trump again loses the popular vote yet narrowly wins an Electoral College majority while potentially hundreds of thousands ( if not millions)of mail-in ballots are disqualified. Second, however, it is absolutely true that hate, fear, dishonesty, and corruption can represent an existential threat to our continued existence as a united republic. But history has demonstrated that America can absorb dreadful political mistakes, recover, and emerge stronger from the trial.

The Trump administrationвЂ™s multiple failures in responding to coronavirus have done great harm. Bad policy can damage a nation, certainly. First, there is nothing about the policies of either the Biden/Harris ticket or the Trump administration that will end America.

Deep breath before the plunge