Partisanship - Can it end?

I ask this question not from some 'cumbyya', 'why can't we all just get along' desire for amiability and mutual self congratulation, but as a militant partisan. Recently on the 'Vast Right Wing Conspiracy' giant octopus of media hegemony, I heard the somewhat notorious question to John McCain "How do we beat the b....h" On another outlet of the 'Right Wing Hate Machine', a caller referred to Hillary Clinton as the 'anti-Christ'. Now as a student of the Reformation and the Wars of Religion, throwing around the term 'anti-Christ' is the mark of serious social and political schism. The next step is to refer to the Democrat Party as the 'whore of Babylon' As a partisan, there is a part of me that wants to get in touch with his inner 'Martin Luther' and affirm both these descriptions. I just wish it were not so in that this hyper-partisanship (for which I place most of the blame on the Democrats - no surprise there) is so self reinforcing.

I end up loathing and wishing maledictions on perhaps 40-45% of my fellow Americans and my attitude towards them is not one of shared concern for the future well-being of our country with different views on how to achieve that - although to say that these different views are such that they can be dispassionately argued on the merits is naive - I fear the gulf in attitude, world view, social and political philosophy and regard for international opinion and example are rapidly approaching the irreconcilable.

As the Bible before him, Lincoln said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. I am fearful that we are just such a house divided or are rapidly approaching it.