User:Johnaweber/sandbox

Political discourse in the United States of America has rapidly changed the landscape of culture. The 2016 Presidential Election was a milepost that sent America into a cultural shift never seen before. There was a gradual shift after the 2008 Presidential Election and the 2012 Presidential Election. But the velocity of cultural shift to become synonymous with politics enveloped the landscape in a major way.

Prior to that, there was a more distinct separation between politics and cultural thinking that involved civil discourse. That is to say, when people disagreed with one another, there was general acceptance to abide by our First Amendment Rights. Freedom of speech guaranteed a robust and often contentious political discussion in the public square. No voices were silenced, contradictory ideas, beliefs, opinions, understanding, knowledge, expression were all part of our rich national conversation. There's always outliers; the mentally unstable, radicalized extremists, etc., but overall you didn't hear politics causing violence, destruction of property, physical altercations and even deaths. Groups like ANTIFA have been empowered / allowed to harass, threaten, and engage in acts of anarchy with little to no accountability.