Good counterpoint in this recent article in The Atlantic [1]. "Yet my father’s fears [of civil war in Northern Ireland] were not fulfilled. There was a horribl

Good counterpoint in this recent article in The Atlantic [1]. "Yet my father’s fears [of civil war in Northern Ireland] were not fulfilled. There was a horrible, 30-year conflict that brought death to thousands and varying degrees of misery to millions. There was terrible cruelty and abysmal atrocity. There were decades of despair in which it seemed impossible that a polity that had imploded could ever be rebuilt. But the conflict never did rise to the level of civil war." "These prophecies have a way of being self-fulfilling." "However, the belief that there was going to be a civil war in Ireland made everything worse. Once that idea takes hold, it has a force of its own. The demagogues warn that the other side is mobilizing. They are coming for us. Not only do we have to defend ourselves, but we have to deny them the advantage of making the first move. The logic of the preemptive strike sets in: Do it to them before they do it to you." [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/america-civil-war-prophecies/620850/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/america...