The Divided States of America by Hank Silverberg {Note to readers: Most of my opinions in these blogs over the past year and a half have been based on factual news stories, historical parallels and raw facts. Some may find that I divert a bit from that practice in this week’s edition in favor of a strong editorial opinion.} Call it “ America the Beautiful ,” “Sweet Land of Liberty,” or “A Shining City on a Hill.” For most of our 243 years, The United States of America has always been a beacon for much of the world. We have scars, of course, from the horrors of slavery to the Japanese Internment Camps during World War Two. But most of (Liberty Bell, courtesy of National Park Service ) the time, America has stood for freedom, individual liberty, basic human rights and a promise of a prosperous life if you worked hard and played by the rules. As a nation we have encouraged those ideals around