The word "nationalism" might be at the center of the current divisiveness, since it means very different things to different groups.
To most Trump supporters, it probably means the opposite of globalism. Caring about America and its interests first.
To most Democrats, it probably means something like fascism, or white supremacy. That's why they think of Trump as a fascist/Nazi.
But which is the real meaning of the word "nationalism?"
The "left" has been influenced by Marxism, and Marx thought nations (and religions) were the cause of wars and should be abolished. The idea is that the whole world should, and could, get along. So that could be one reason Democrats, who have been very influenced by the "left" recently, don't like nationalism.
Another reason Democrats (in general, today) don't like nationalism is, of course, that they don't like anything that Trump and his supporters like.
But another big reason is that nationalism does sometimes shade into white nationalism, and white supremacy. Which, of course, Democrats (and most rational Republicans) despise.
Breitbart, Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller -- they all are advocates for European/American culture. They believe it is a superior culture, because it has been the most advanced in terms of technology and wealth.
Most of the famous inventors and explorers of our culture have been Europeans or Americans (not as much currently, but going back a ways). And of course Europeans are called the "white" race, because they are lighter than most others.
So because of their love of Western culture, and their desire to defend it against attacks and political correctness, they can be accused of being racists.
It should be possible for someone to say the great modern achievements in science, technology, the arts, etc., have been thanks to Western culture without their being an actual racist. I mean, it is a fact so pretending it isn't true would not be possible.
But is it because the white race is somehow superior? In my opinion no, it is not superior. But some people might look at the differences in achievement between Western countries and for example African countries and say it proves racial superiority.
First of all, remember that Western culture is only superior in certain things, and is probably much worse than other cultures in some other things. Also, we are all the same species and scientists don't necessarily think there are racial divisions.
There is, however, epigenetics, which is not yet well understood. But we know that cultural traits can be inherited. So, for example, if a culture values literacy maybe reading and writing skills will be passed down, resulting in higher average IQ scores for that culture.
It is possible that some ethnic groups (sometimes called "races") have advantages in math and verbal skills. But even if that is true, it is not carved in DNA. Epigenetics can be changed by what you do in your life, and then passed down to your kids.
American blacks probably came from non-literate African cultures, and as slaves they were not taught to read and write. So they might have some epigenetic disadvantage in our culture where math and verbal skills are important.
Notice that blacks, in general, have no disadvantage in music or athletics.
Epigenetic limitations can be overcome by learning and practice. We should never give up on something we want to do because we don't have "natural talent" for it. Talent is acquired by individuals, as well as inherited. If you didn't inherit a certain talent you just have to work harder and longer at it.
This is just an attempt to make sense of some of the current confusion and rage.
