Is the new ‘Civil War’ movie a preview of our real divided American future? | Opinion
A line from the new film, “Civil War,” directed by Alex Garland, really took me aback. It’s a cautionary quote that we should remember.
Jessie, a fledgling news photographer who wants to cover the war, tells her colleagues that her dad is back home on his farm in Missouri, “pretending that none of this is happening.”
The “none of this” is a real civil war set in contemporary times, under a dictator president who has dismantled the FBI and has called for violence against his U.S. enemies.
And during a round-the-way 857-mile road trip from New York to Washington, D.C., (the war prevents a safe straight shot) we meet others who also appear to be nonchalant about the violence happening in other states.
It’s a scary dystopia depicted not that far into our future that asks the question, will we let things escalate and do nothing while war brews under the surface?
The Kansas City Star Editorial Board discussed this movie because of the subject matter and the fact that the protagonists are journalists — war photographers — who may or may not have acted ethically. But as I reflected on the film, I realized something.
You know who isn’t pretending that nothing is happening right now? Leaders in Missouri and Kansas, whose actions could appear to be helping elect a kind of president depicted in the movie.
Director Garland is vague about how we get to this place where civil war is on, full scale. What we do know is the president has been allowed to rise and increase his powers. He, against the Constitution, is in a third term of office. How could that happen?
Let’s review these recent actions by Missouri and Kansas leaders:
- Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has, in the past, been dismissive of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s role in Jan. 6 and in whether he broke the law by removing classified documents from the White House. Recently, he has toned down his rhetoric on the insurrection. But let’s not forget the photo of that fist bump.
- Kansas and Missouri Attorneys General Andrew Bailey and Kris Kobach signed on to a filing in support of Trump’s request for immunity from prosecution in the federal government’s charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
- When the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump would not appear on the 2024 presidential primary election ballot in that state because the Constitution mandates that no official who has “engaged in insurrection” can hold elected federal office in this country, some Missouri Republicans, including state Sen. William Eigel, wanted to take political retribution against President Joe Biden. Sen. Eric Schmitt voiced his disagreement on X in a post that said Americans need to “reclaim our Republic from radical Leftist hellbent on absolute power and control.”
Who’s hell-bent on absolute power and control?
The film’s dictator president, seen mostly on camera and in a few scenes, doesn’t care about the people of the United States, and caters only to his supporters. Played by actor Nick Offerman, he doesn’t really look like Trump except for the dark suit and the wide reddish tie.
Other than this character, the movie isn’t particularly partisan in the way we recognize. In fact, the scariest thing about the movie is that you can’t tell the enemies apart. They’re all Americans, often wearing military fatigues that look alike.
Another unsettling thing? Americans who, as long as they are safe, don’t seem to care what is going on in the rest of the country.
A shopkeeper tells an incredulous journalist that she knows what’s going on, but “we usually try to stay out of it. With everything that’s been going on, it seems like it’s for the best.” The journalist can’t believe what he hears.
“Civil War” is a typical Hollywood war movie. It’s loud and violent. It’s atypical in the way we treat each other on domestic soil, however. When a character asks, not “are you American?” but “what kind of American are you?” before deciding whether to put a bullet in a man’s head, it was a tense and telling scene.
We need to be careful now, in 2024, in building our next president. Yes, build. Do we choose to ignore the Constitution, remake law and allow bullies to thrive in pursuit of the highest office? Or do we decide to protect our democracy and treat our citizens with respect, dignity and mercy?
The answer to these questions may prevent a real civil war in the near future.
