Ideological strife in the United States has escalated sharply during the last period, and the exceptional measures imposed by the spread of the Corona pandemic and clashes between police and demonstrators protesting the killing of an African American youth at the hands of the police seemed to reignite the "cultural war" that has long raged on controversial issues , Such as abortion, arms bearing, religious freedom, etc.
In his report, published by the New York Times, the author Jeremy W. Peters reviews the most prominent features of this war, which politicians ’statements play a major role in stoking.
Last Easter, the mayor of Louisville warned that performing religious rituals in churches would be a challenge to the rules of social estrangement.
On the other hand, Kentucky Republican Mitch Mitch McConnell replied to him with a tough message, saying, "There should be no discrimination against religious people and justification of prejudice against them."
Although firearms stores have remained open in most parts of the country, the US National Arms Federation has warned firearms owners in a video posted on its website that famous actor Charlie Daniels says, "They want your guns, they want them all."
The author pointed out that the stringent measures taken by the federal and state governments to limit the spread of the Corona virus stirred some old feelings about a number of the most controversial issues in American policy, as issues of arms, abortion, voting rights and religious freedoms surfaced, issues that do not seem to appear to be It has to do with the virus that killed thousands of Americans.
The writer quoted what was said by Jeff Landy, the Louisiana Republican Attorney General and Trump's ally, who said that "there is a tremendous amount of social unrest, conservatives who use the pandemic as an excuse to keep some measures in place do so to serve their own interests."
From the point of view of the author, Trump sends his messages to a minority of Americans who believe that the government has crossed the border, in an attempt to contain the threat caused by the outbreak of the new Corona virus, as he has sought to spread false information and hints on how restrictions affect issues such as gun ownership and freedom to exercise Religious rites.
Zora claimed last week that the second amendment (which provides citizens with the right to own weapons) posed a danger to Americans in Virginia.
On the other hand, the founder of the Alliance for Faith and Freedom Ralph Reed said, "It simply does not make sense to ask people to be powerless in their homes and watch their businesses descend into bankruptcy. Their jobs are lost and their lives are being destroyed."
He pointed to a recent survey conducted by the American Project Institute and found that about 90% of the nation's places of worship are no longer working as usual, which raised many questions among conservatives, such as "Why may alcohol and grocery stores be open while churches are closed?" ? "
Cultural war
The writer stated that despite the escalation of tensions last week, the competing political agendas have portrayed how leaders dealt with the restrictions imposed on the Corona virus last month.
Texas was specifically a laboratory for a conservative response to the epidemic, and, like Ohio, Alabama and a few other Republican-led states, Texas initially included abortion among elective medical procedures that should be delayed until the immediate threat to the virus is over.
Nancy Northop, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights - one of the groups that filed a lawsuit against Texas - said that this restriction amounted to "an abuse of power and part of the effort to use false pretenses to close clinics."
The writer explained that Texas public policy decisions differ significantly from states such as New York, where Governor Andrew Mark Como declared that opening arms stores was unnecessary, which led to a lawsuit being filed against him.
For his part, Landy said that the Conservatives consider this announcement to be just an example of how the Democrats "are actually using this situation to get what they want."
Property rights
Texas has also been at the heart of the growing struggle between left and right over other issues, such as property rights and prison policy.
Conservatives have opposed local efforts to prevent homeowners from going to their properties and expanding the scope of e-mail voting, which is currently limited to a specific population that includes the elderly and people with special needs.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit after Governor Greg Abbott issued an order prohibiting the release of some prisoners at risk of contracting the virus.
Abbott claimed that the release of "dangerous criminals" puts society at risk, and "slows down our ability to respond to the disaster caused by Covid-19 ″."
On the other hand, the state court rejected the governor's order, and suspended him temporarily.
For its part, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed more than 30 similar lawsuits across the country.
"The epidemic is a good omen, as it will contribute to uniting our ranks and overcoming the partisan division that afflicted us long ago, and I think we see this in some cases," said David Cole, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
He also referred to church services and the crowd of hundreds of demonstrators, which represents anomalies from his point of view.
"The thing that makes it even more troublesome is that the President of the United States has urged this kind of activity," he added.
The writer concluded that while Corona virus can infect people of any race, nationality, religion or political orientation, the data show that its spread is getting worse in some states where the protests took place.