Half of Americans expect to see a second U.S. civil war within years and nearly a fifth say they could one day be toting guns at a political face-off themselves, according to an alarming new study about the nation’s deepening divisions.
Researchers at University of
California, Davis uncovered worrying levels of ‘alienation’, ‘mistrust’ and a growing tendency to turn to violence in their recently-conducted survey of 8,620 adults across the country.
More than two-thirds of respondents said they saw a ‘serious threat to our democracy’ and 50.1 percent agreed with the statement that ‘in the next few years, there will be civil war in the U.S.’
More than 40 percent said having a ‘strong leader’ was more important than democracy and that ‘native-born white people are being replaced by immigrants’ — a racist belief known as the ‘great replacement theory’.
Researchers also uncovered a growing inclination to settle political rows with violence.
Nearly a fifth of respondents said it was likely they would be ‘armed with a gun’ at a political flash point in the coming years, while 4 percent said it was likely they would ‘shoot someone with a gun’.
Two men argue alongside the 'Black Lives Matter' mural in front of the Trump Tower in New York last July. Researchers say Americans increasingly see violence as an answer to political differences
Armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey famously stood in front of their house confronting anti-racism protesters in St. Louis in June 2020 — a notable example of America's increasingly fractious politics
Americans survey violence University of California, Davis democracy threat civil war politics | Daily Mail Online
