Presidents Day is supposed to be a time for honoring past leaders. This year, it put current divisions on full display

Image via AP.

Presidents Day Weekend provided something unexpected.

It wasn’t about celebrating George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama or any of our past and current Presidents — something we typically expect even as some people like some Presidents more than others. Instead, it saw a series of high-profile events that put a glaring spotlight on the state of American discourse — divisions so deep it seems there may never be a cure.

Over the weekend, as many Americans looked forward to a long weekend to celebrate the holiday, there were several moments that put political divisions in particular on display — the Daytona 500, which President Donald Trump attended; the USA vs. Canada hockey match; the highly anticipated SNL 50th anniversary special; and opening weekend of the latest Captain America movie.

Each had unmissable signs of our current national — and international — predicament.

As race fans across the country tuned into the Daytona 500, where Trump would race around the famous track in his presidential limo, New York and Hollywood elite were gathering at 30 Rock to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic sketch comedy series ever, one that has become a symbol of liberalism in comedy.

Fans at the Daytona 500 NASCAR race, a sport known for its conservative bent, went wild as Trump circled the track on Sunday. Later, during the SNL 50 special, Trump was the butt of an awful lot of jokes.

Tom Hanks played a loyal Trump supporter in a reprised sketch as “Doug,” the MAGA hat-wearing, southern accent-boasting conservative afraid of the Black host on Black jeopardy. His role, even though it was a throwback to previous episodes, roiled actual MAGA faithful who saw the portrayal of their support as “disgusting.”

Steve Martin, a 16-time host of SNL over its 50 years, provided the opening monologue, in which he poked fun at Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Martin quipped that he had been vacationing on a friend’s boat in “the Gulf of Steve Martin” when he got the call about hosting the 50th anniversary special.

The episode largely steered away from politics, and the many times Trump has been portrayed by various actors and comedians were left out, but it’s no secret the show often ventures into political critique, and that the critique tends to skewer Republicans and conservatives more than Democrats and other leftists.

Also this weekend, the USA hockey team faced off against the Canadian team in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Team USA pulled off a win, but not before Canadian fans in the stands at the game, which was in Montreal, booed during the American national anthem. The win also came after, likely due to tensions over said booing, there were three fights in the first 9 seconds of the game. To put that into perspective, there hasn’t been a fight in an international hockey tournament since the World Cup of Hockey in 2004.

Canadians are peeved with the U.S. because Trump wants to turn Canada into the 51st state. They’re also not terribly keen on Trump’s imposition of sweeping tariffs.

And that brings us to the Marvel Universe, where Captain America is now Black and he has to fight the new U.S. President who just happens to be “Red Hulk.” I mean, the parallel is obvious. You have an actual U.S. President accused of complacency with, if not outright support for, White supremacists. So it’s hard not to compare “Captain America: Brave New World” to the current climate under the red hat-wearing Trump. Black hero. Red villain.

Enter the latest in America’s culture wars.

Conservatives across the nation have taken to social media to bash the movie as woke garbage. Criticism has ranged from calling Anthony Mackie’s character Sam Wilson a “DEI hire” — a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that Trump has banned in federal government and has been railing against for years — to arguing the film would be “dead on arrival” considering that Americans voted for Trump.

None of these four events are directly related to one another. But that just makes the message so much clearer: The divisions in our nation are deeper than ever.

Those who love Trump, many of them anyway, are going to keep loving Trump no matter how many times SNL cast members use his actions or comments as a punchline. They will hear boos at a hockey game and dig in deeper. They’ll continue boycotting any parts of Hollywood they perceive as part of the wokening of American culture. And they’ll keep on cheering him when he makes a cameo at NASCAR races.

On the other side, those who hate Trump are going to keep hating him. They’ll blame his actions for soiling our nation’s reputation on the global stage. They’ll keep mocking him for actions that seem to have little impact other than to own the libs, like renaming the Gulf of whatever you choose to call it. They’ll keep looking for anti-Trump cold opens and they’ll keep watching movies conservatives hate — the latest Captain America flick grossed $100 million over the weekend despite poor ratings and very vocal criticism.

To be clear, none of this is good for our country. This is not a commentary on the rightness or wrongness of the Trump administration — readers have their own opinions and they are welcome to them. Instead, this is a commentary on discourse.

Wouldn’t it be better for this country if voters could admit when they don’t like something that someone they voted for did? How many accounts have we heard over the past week or so about Trump supporters getting canned from their government jobs? It’s OK to support someone AND think they sometimes miss the mark. In fact, democracy works best when we’re able to acknowledge limitations and learn from mistakes.

Likewise, whatever happened to acknowledging that even when you disagree on something, there could still be some merit?

Politics has always been a divisive thought exercise, but once upon a time we were collectively able to see some good even in disagreements. We were able to find common ground and reach consensus, at least some of the time.

Democrats and anyone else in the “Never Trump” realm blame Trump and the MAGAverse. Trump and the MAGAverse blame liberals and DEI.

The results are on-ice brawls, booing fans, politicized movies and loaded sketch comedy jokes.

Presidents Day Weekend is over, but it is still Presidents Day. Some might not want to celebrate this President. Some might not want to celebrate certain past Presidents. But there is still time to celebrate our democracy. It’s survived the past nearly 250 years. It’s time to ensure it survives this division.