The Second American Civil War

A fable about a country torn apart

Come with me for a moment while I spin a historical fable about a country being torn apart.

Imagine that it’s the 2050s. An issue bitterly divides the United States. It could be any of our issues — racism, inequity, injustice, immigration, incarceration, environment, climate, health care, taxes, sexual abuse, gender, guns, censorship, the financial system, politics, language, jobs, culture, or others. — We’ll say it’s abortion.

Let’s say that abortion is legal in all 50 states, but many citizens remain fiercely divided about it. That sounds like a place to start our tale.

Much of U.S. history continues as it always has — as a struggle between competing rights.

That means: To those who support abortion, a woman has the right to govern her own body — without interference from government.

To those who oppose abortion, a fetus is a person with the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and full protection under the law.

In abortion, those rights come into conflict, and, without government intervention, as one side argues, the mother holds all the power and can violate the rights of the fetus at will, by killing it. The pro-life group wants government to protect the rights and the life of the unborn child.

Those on the other side argue with equal fervor that government must protect the most fundamental right in a…