To what extent had the underlaying values, basic decency and morality been stripped bare, with only a facade of concern for respectability remaining, by the time Trump came along and kicked that over?

Given the degree to which we sought to blame him on others, without any effort to reflect on the forces giving rise to him, it doesn't seem like there is much in the way of national character remaining. Everyone has rights and no one is responsible.

As for the current civil war brewing, any society that ever existed has had their version of liberal and conservative. Liberals are rabbits and conservatives are turtles. They speak in different in frequencies.

Life is complicated and when we reduce it to simple black and white, there is no telling which side will end up holding the stronger hand.