In history, you can find many examples of the two-party political system ripping its society apart.  It can divide a nation in half and pit brother against brother.  Sometimes, it can even lead to bloodshed through civil war.

The Roman republic experienced this with their two political parties, the Popularites and the Optimates.  It ultimately led a bloody conflict which forever ended the Republic.  Gaius Julius Caesar was a man of the people and a member of the Popularites (equivalent to America's Democrats).  Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus, or better known as simply Pompey the Great, was a member of the Optimates (equivalent to America's Republicans).  Julius Caesar too advantage of this deep-seeded division and finally led his armies against Pompey and the Republic.  Caesar won the war and the republic turned to a dictatorship.

The American republic also had a civil war in the 19th century.  The two opposing political factions, the Democrats of the southern states and the Republicans of the Northern states, found themselves at war.  It ripped the nation apart and many lives were lost in blood conflict.

Now it is the early 21st century in the United States and the foundation is being laid for, yet, another civil conflict.  Tensions are high with the 2008 elections around the corner.  Racial, economical, religious, and an onslaught of other issues divide the nation like never before.  All citizens hold some or all of these dividing beliefs.  Individual politicians, military soldiers, police, and the civilian populace are all susceptible to acting upon their most cherished beliefs.  If the conditions are right, the United States could be one incident away from another civil war.  It could be a collapse in the economy, or an offensive political assassination that sparks the riots in the streets, which could spread into the ranks of the military and police.  The powder keg is full and it could explode at anytime.

I'm not sure if the United States can avoid the inevitable, but it can certainly delay it.  Americans must learn to coexist with one another and to protect the civil liberties which are important.  Freedom is the only thing that can preserve the peace, but if one political party gains enough strength to take away the freedoms cherished by the other party then the nation will be one step closer to civil war.

Americans should be cautious towards Barack Hussein Obama and his obscure and ambiguous plans for "change".  Let’s see to it that America never falls into a state of civil war again.  Let’s preserve the union for peace sake.  Let’s be polite and respectful towards our brothers of the opposite political party.  Let’s have peace.