How Civil Wars Start: The Pelosi Attack and the Rise of Extremism in the U.S. | Amanpour and Company

One way to start a civil war, is to not punish the leaders of an failed coup, which is something every other country knows.

Another major factor: Ultra right wing libertarian billionaires deploying their practically limitless financial assets to back the movement of American society towards oligarchy and minority rule.

QUOTE: "It's not the downtrodden that start civil wars. It's the privileged class that see their power diminishing." Well said and so true.

It’s just like being back in my high school world history class in 1969. It’s not the most downtrodden who start the civil war, it’s those who had been close to power who see their privilege faltering.

Being disgruntled is one thing but being encouraged and validated by the powers that be is the thing...

Short term: arrest traitors who already tried the violent overthrow of our nation. Actually have the rule of law. Long term: improve our pathetic education system & ban lying in news & political ads.

As a white Christian man this is so disturbing and strange. I too happen to be (mostly) conservative. but my conservatism leads me to embrace our brilliant (thank you founding fathers) constitution. and the idea chiseled on the Supreme Court building, "Equal Justice Under Law". If we abandon all that, were kind of doomed. I'm grieved that it's my fellow Evangelical white males who are the biggest threat! We get a lot of deserved blame....but for threatening democracy?!? I'm dismayed.

What a powerful interview. She needs to speak on the evening news; people in America desperately need this information nowadays

As a Canadian, I look towards our southern neighbours with fear and anxiety. Please, American friends, pull yourselves together. Consider the writing on the wall a warning, not a command..

Already started. Gerrymandering and stacked the courts.

WOW Barbara nailed; it especially at the end. A quote attributed to Edmund Burke 1729 - 1797 by John F. Kennedy during a speech to the Canadian Parliament in May of 1961: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

All this has been obvious for decades. It's been like watching a movie when you already know how it ends. A very long and frustrating movie.

Republicans' gaslighting by saying the attack on Speaker Pelosi's husband was random violence is in line with Professor Walters' rationale.

While in Afghanistan, as a U.S. Marine I helped secure voting sites from taliban attacks so the Afghans could vote without threat. Only to come home to the american taliban using the same tactics. Sad

Nice interview. Regrettably, the guest didn't address the influence of foreign actors in this situation. They have been very successful in fomenting our turmoil. Not blaming them entirely, but it's a big problem and only getting worse.

The next election should be guarded by the National Guard across the country to protect voters & election workers.

A portion of our problem is the two-party system. In a multi-party parliamentary system it would be easier to isolate the anti-democratic lunatics. However, in our system of only two major parties, the dangers are enormous. When one of the two parties becomes blatantly anti-democratic/anti-reality/anti-truthfulness - we are facing an existential threat.

As Rachel Maddows said - "Your vote at this election decides whether you ever vote again".

On a larger scale America's power and influence is waning internationally, and as long as it maintains an "us and them" mentality, we are all in deep trouble.

Its terrifying to see the fall of democracy in a country where democracy always 'appeared' to be one of its reasons for existing. I love the States, I have many friends there, I've travelled extensively around the country, but that was before Trump got in, and while the divisions before that were somewhat apparent to the outsider, they didn't appear to be so angry, fractured, or dangerous. I would hesitate to travel anywhere out of the places I know well in the US now, I fear they are populated with severe danger. 🇬🇧