While we struggle through the effects of this pandemic, and deal with the legions of nut-cases who support ludicrous conspiracies and outrageous attempts to overturn the election result, as well as a President who seems increasingly detached from reality and appears willing to engage in overt sedition and treason to avoid admitting his loss; we must not lose focus that there are actors around the world who are watching for such a opportunity.
Would this be the right time for Russia to assault and occupy Ukraine and other former Soviet block states? How about China launching at last that war of submission against Taiwan?
Or skip those two major long-term areas of international concern and contemplate the numerous smaller spots of tension where would be belligerents wait for American attention to be distracted homeward, allowing them the opportunity for wars of conquest in their own region?
Will the threat of civil war or unrest open doors for conflict in other locations?
I suppose that if I am considering this, it is likely that trained experts are aware as well. But will the discord and disruption to the country that Trump is sowing, intentionally it seems, allow for wider disturbances? Will either these or US civil conflict become the catalyst for a larger war? Will our 2020 elections become the Franz Ferdinand moment of the 21st century? Are we living in our Sarajevo moment?
I don’t have the answer to these questions. I voice them to help make people aware that the divide in our country can effect more than just us.