A Tale of Self-Destruction

The movie feature Civil War, playing in theaters now, has certainly caused a buzz here in America. Due not only to its explicit material and controversial marketing themes, but also the almost deliberate timing; positioned dead smack in front of the 2024 Presidential Elections this year. If I wanted to shake things up a bit, this is exactly what I’d do; Information Operations at its finest!

However, I originally had zero interest in seeing this fictious movie. But when a scheduling error at the local IMAX had me seated with a bucket of popcorn and a completely different movie came on, I had to get up and inquire about the mishap. The theater treated me well due to their own mistake. With popcorn and soda in hand, they said they couldn’t just let me leave. Instead, they asked me what other movie I would like to see before printing me a voucher to come back later for the original movie. We went down the roster and Civil War was about the only option. Curious, I said I’d take the ticket and I headed in. After 35 minutes of previews the lights finally dimmed and the curtains drew back.

The film itself dwells in its own nuance and intricacies, being shot from the perspective of a carload of reporters and photographers. I give credit that it does a great job steering away from choosing a certain Westernized political or social side. When the movie starts, the country is already full blown in chaos. The country is divided, not just by two, but multiple factions and regions. Certain regions have formed alliances. Resources have been depleted or are in ration. Ragtag outfits are out bogalooging and the infrastructure is beyond quick repair. It doesn’t take long to inject the first taste of violence to grab the audience’s attention.

From there though, I felt like I was watching just another unoriginal movie. Yes, just another movie; like The Purge or Zombieland or even The Walking Dead series. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was boring, but it was not a depiction that fulfilled my expectations of a worst case scenario. They certainly had the budget for the film but obviously not the writing chops. I guess as a deep-thinker, I was ready for some intense, insightful themes; like “Show me the “Why” the situation unfolded as it did? Where was the breakdown? Who fired the first shot? What lessons can we take away from the story?” All irrelevant questions since they were never explained.

As a veteran having witnessed sectarian violence firsthand, the ensuing carnage, and the societal fallout in war zones, as well as divisive uprising and riots here in my own backyard of America, this is what I was hoping the writing staff would have passionately dove into. And yet, the movie is not set up to be a cautionary tale, but more of a one-person’s fictional perspective of how it could all theoretically go down. It fell short in capturing a mature audience’s take on what should have been a story of morality, national unity, and strength to overcome societal and political differences in this modern age.

Remember the 1983 movie “The Day After” and the absolute profound “day after shock” it created on America over the fictional nuclear exchange of the USA and USSR? It impacted the global zeitgeist so profoundly that it was a factor to help turn the tide of the Cold War. This was a movie that detailed the horrors of a nuclear exchange of mutual destruction and the fallout that changed not only people’s minds, but the course of foreign policy. It certainly did not glorify a nuclear war. In fact, most versions of The Day After included a disclaimer before the ending credits stating the film was fictional and that the real-life outcome of a nuclear war would be much worse than the events portrayed in the movie.

So, I personally feel like the writers really missed the mark and opportunity in Civil War. But then again, maybe Hollywood, with its tentacles in everything, really put the zip cuffs and black hoods on the writer/director/producers. As a disclaimer, I do not advocate for a homegrown civil war, and I assume the production crew doesn’t either. But a lot of the scenes seemed disjointed without a lot of explanation as to why and what I was seeing during many of the significant parts of the movie. I felt like I was just expected to get it, rally in support, and accept some of the scenes only for shock value; things that a lot of us readers here have already seen for ourselves in real life. I don’t know, there’s really no need to revisit much of it except for the realistic suffering that man serves upon fellow man through fear, anger, and hate.

But the real shocker for me throughout the entirety of this fictional situation and what alarmingly rings out as a potential in the back of at least 40% of the country’s minds according to a 2022 poll is that the potentiality of a modern Civil War is not just fictious any longer. I left the theater feeling pretty indifferent. That, in itself was the most “shock and awe moment” of the film in my opinion. I am pretty sure this was not the intended reaction the studio intended for me to have walking out of the theater.

To elaborate and confess; what has eaten at me ever since the final credits started rolling is how indifferent I felt, and still feel, of the concept of this country becoming so divided and having lost its way to thus ultimately fissure into a staunch stance against multiple ideals and turning to a no-turning-back war against itself being not that far-fetched. I wonder if the country I fought for in the past to save as a bastion of freedom and democracy is even redeemable and worthy of becoming reunited as it stands today.

In the movie, they did not overwhelm the audience with CGI F35s strafing malls or Ohio State launching tactical nukes at Michigan State; blowing up college stadium football games. Instead, they used pretty typical violence. And that probably made it feel closer to reality and more accessible as a possibility.

So, I am left confused and wondering if I have personally become overly desensitized to violence because of our own mass media outlets highlighting Breaking News from all the turmoil stateside, as well as from the frontlines of Ukraine and Gaza, for the past couple years. These two wars are the epitome of predictability. Conflict in these two separate regions have been contested for decades; even centuries. There is almost a knowing that at some point, this country could invite these very same kinds of violent attacks here through our own polarization and vile hatred against our own neighbors that subscribe to belief systems counter to our own. Not to mention the wholesale importation of non-Americans at an alarming rate over the past decade that can neither be confirmed nor denied which allegiance each carry truly in their hearts. Each are treated as citizens once crossed into this country and given a piece of paper to report to a court for further processing; before boarding a bus headed for Any Town, USA.

By the way, the media would love for this country to turn against itself, fore, crisis is what keeps them in business. And ironically, the movie is based around four hungry photojournalists following the civil war carnage for their next best story or photo op.

It’s no big secret that this country is currently divided and in a real sense, we are already in a full blown civil war of ideals. We all feel the overall consequences of separation from each other whenever a national catastrophe occurs. Two sides of a broken Two-Party System lash out at each other and stoke the flames of fear and hate. Never wanting to miss the opportunity to capitalize on a disaster or a catastrophe to poke the other bear in order to win favoritism from their base. So, the question I certainly ponder is what would the actual catalyst be that would spark the flint; to fire the first shot of a second Civil War? Of all the things we as a very young country have already endured and witnessed, what is it that would become the final straw? And are we seeing the signs of inevitability right now?

Interestingly in the movie the UN’s presence, nor any other country, is mentioned except one of our neighbors whose currency was mentioned in favor over the obviously broken American dollar; as well as a vile hatred of China. One can only imagine what other countries would do as the American flag fell from grace. And what would be the ultimate trigger for a foreign force to come upon our shores and liberate or arbitrate us from our own in-fighting just as America has done for decades across the globe? At that point, would the national civil war break in order for the country’s brothers and sisters to finally unite and arm together once again as an insurgency against a foreign invader?

Ultimately is that what this country needs; a good old schoolyard fist fight against family members in order to finally put the band back together again? It’s a rhetorical question of course and one, frankly, that I hate to even say out loud. I would certainly hope not. However, the current financial trajectory, patterns of social and political current events, the developing insider threat of undocumented illegals crossing the US border and disappearing into the interior daily and an ever-stoking of fear from all media outlets could certainly pave the way for such an occurrence. We talk about warnings and indicators here a lot but honestly the alarms have just become background noise to a complacent citizenry.

And yet where would all of our fearless elected leaders be, the brokers of an American civil war, as brother upon brother and sister upon sister slug it out in cities, suburbs, and cornfields of everyday USA? Most likely found hiding in a basement, unresponsive, shirking responsibility and completely unaccountable still pointing fingers at the other side. For there to be a redeemable future, maybe the American dream finally concludes and dissolves on mutual terms by a national divorce.

With all of that said, I still feel indifferent; not defeated-but indifferent. Because I know not one single person can fix the current situation, nor have we proven that we can all unite and come together putting aside differences to make a significant change and course correct. Marriage counseling takes two to work things out. But the two have to both show up and want to see a better future through reconciliation. It may seem quite defeatist, but maybe it’s just me being pragmatic and jaded by failed governments after failed governments after failed governments around this planet. At this point, no one is showing up. Boy, the production crew has really put their thumb in my eye with this one!

So, in the end, the movie has left me more confused about the future of reality than when I sat down in the theater to watch a story of make believe. Honestly, I give it a thumbs down in all categories other than giving me some decent material to bitch about here!

In closing I’ll sarcastically use a quote, and no, Abraham Lincoln did not actually say this. Fabricated a few years ago and falsely attributed to Lincoln I guess to claim some sort of legitimacy, this tagline has paradoxically been utilized by both opposing American political parties. Ironically it is at least something they both can actually agree upon;

                “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” ― The American zeitgeist – 2020

Maybe with all this indifference, I’ll just go sit out back at the fire pit and listen to Johnny Cash’s Ragged Old Flag again.

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Robb is a retired active Army veteran of 21 years, primarily serving as a Cavalry Scout. Having accomplished multiple combat tours, diverse global assignments and leadership roles, Robb retired as a First Sergeant of Shadow Troop, 1-33 CAV (Rakassans). From there, Robb went on to attempt his luck in the civilian sector as a Reliability Engineer at an international paper processing company during the pandemic. Not quite satisfied and feeling the draw to serve once again, Robb made his way back behind the gate working with some of the nation’s tip of spear warfighters on Fort Liberty, NC.

It was during this time that he was drawn into an esoteric spiritual journey of self-discovery and began peeling back the onion of how vanquishing spiritual warfare can serve as a personal force multiplier. Dropping all ties to dogmatic religious principles, Robb solely embarked into studies of the mystical and metaphysical for the answers of life. Now forged with this newfound purpose, Robb blends his current path of spiritual ascension along with his past experience of the rigors of military service in order to uplift the future of his brothers and sisters in arms.

“The answers we all seek lie in potential.”

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.