When we discuss a body politic it is not uncommon to use a metaphor of social fabric.
When we look at a society in distress we use the term ‘ripped social fabric’.
I think the metaphor is particularly appropriate because fabrics are composed of woof and warp. Warp is the closely aligned parallel threads through which the woof is woven to give the fabric its strength. Sometimes, as in the case of felt, the fabric can be beaten and abused so that micro fibers connect the woof and warp to increase its strength. This is also a useful metaphor because challenges and threats sometimes strengthen a society.
In our society the social fabric has been rent.
* First we eliminated our hereditary elite in 1960 and we have not replaced it with an enduring stable political alternative.
* Second we attempted forced integration of our public schools which wrought havoc in the school system and has significantly diminished its democratic mixing function.
* Third the hippies became a massive movement in the 1960s that challenged nearly all of our sexual, religious and managerial values.
* Fourth, in our reaction to the Cold War we became divided on a pro and anti-commerce fault line with the Democrats and unions adopting the anti-commerce position.
* Fifth we watched a constant internal population migration beginning in the early 1980s that separated Democrats and Republicans into urban and nonurban populations.
* Sixth, this change in populations resulted in political representation that was similarly divided.
* Seventh, we saw the most astounding abuse of government power when the Democrats, without a single Republican vote, passed Obamacare bringing government power to bear on 1/6th of the commercial market.
* Eighth, we were stunned to find that the most powerful government agency, the IRS, for the first time in its history was using its power for malice on behalf of the Democratic Party.
* Ninth and lastly, president Obama, from the day he took office, has made every effort to promote class warfare, to harshly malign any political opposition and provoke racial animosity.
Are all of these factors sufficient to rent the social fabric of the United States?
My answer is "yes".
What can we do? First we have to acknowledge the severity of damage that has been done to our society before we can even consider remedies. I see no discussion anywhere about the extraordinary damage that has been done to our social fabric.