I'll take a different take on this:
I believe we are already in a civil war, it just isn't a "hot" civil war.
I truly believe that the absolute vast majority of the population generally don't care what is going on in the country as long as they are fed, have a place to live, and are left to do generally what they want. If you look at most all "hot" wars of the past, they kick of hot when more than one of those three are suppressed.
The main issue is most people who are "downtrodden" don't have a realistic view on what real poverty and lack is. For the first time in history our nations "poor" check their EBT balance on smart phones, live in section 8 housing complete with satellite and internet provided for reduced/free, and are given healthcare through the government. What was designed to be a safety net has turned into a hammock for those that have grown comfortable in their "poor" situation. Our "impoverished" are coupled with a major obesity epidemic.
We are told how violent the world is right now. But if you really look at the data, there has never been a longer span of "peace" than in the past 40 years or so. The 1900s, so far, was the most violent century in the history of the world. But if you dig deeper, it was the first 50 years of the 20th century that lays claim to this. There are horrible wars and atrocities going on in Africa, so please don't think I am saying this is to be ignored. But we are talking 100's of thousands, not MILLIONS like we saw at the hands of Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, the Japanese, and the Chinese. Some I have talked to lament the ceaseless wars in the middle east, and while they are horrid and loss of life is terrible and the emotional scars our boys are bringing home is horrid...nearly as many people died on Iwo Jima as in the past 18 years of war in the middle East. (Again, I am not belittling the sacrifice of our men and women, just holding the total losses in comparison).
So why are so many so "fearful"? Its because the media has run out of "blood" to sell. And without blood, there is no story, and with no story, they lose revenue. So what we (in my opinion) have seen in the past 20 years especially, is the media more and more trying to sell us the "horrors of the modern world". If they were truthful, strife would be ended within years, not decades...
Gay rights? What rights do they honestly lack? Their biggest enemy is a chicken restaurant.
Womens rights? What rights to they honestly lack? Men are now dominating their sports due to their push for "equality".
Civil rights? We elected a black president, dealt with his failed policies for years. We have BLM movements, we have police retreating from black neighborhoods so as not to be too "heavy handed", we have affirmative action, we have black colleges and universities. We spend billions of dollars on immigrants, both legal and illegal. We have systems and laws in place to punish, often punitively, for anyone or any company found to have used race as an issue. For the first time saying "I am proud to be white" is considered hate speech.
Abortion rights? Despite my personal revulsion towards the practice, it is still going on, and will continue going on.
Poverty? See above...the poverty line in the US would make one massively wealthy in 90% of the world.
Medical care? Whether our system needs work or not, we have the best doctors, the most revolutionary treatments, the best researchers, and the best medical schools in the world.
Crime? Violent crime is on a downward spiral. Where violent crime is rampant, there is another underlying social ailment such as gang warfare or drug violence.
Drugs? The Opioid epidemic may actually be something that is a problem...but since "drugs" have been on the menu for so many years as a problem, people don't care, so it doesn't sell
War? As above...for the first time in decades the world is at relative peace as there are no nations able/willing to commit to full battlefield conflict with one another. And those smaller nations that attempt it are generally kept in check by their "keeper nations".
Democracy under attack? We have never been a democracy. Mob rule was never implied or desired by our founding fathers. It would be too honest to take up the narrative that our current system of checks and balances is specifically designed to be slow and tedious.
Impeachment? The word "impeachment" has been so brutalized that people now think it is some magical word that immediately means someone is guilty of something. Not a day goes by that I don't see some moron on facebook reply to ANY elected official doing ANYTHING and someone says "IMPEACH THEM!" like boom...the problem will be solved.
Innovation? No nation in history has enjoyed the constant march of innovation and development that comes out of the United States. Medical, exploration, social, technological, you name it...we have enjoyed a relative monopoly on major world changing innovations.
Fact is folks, we have never had it better in our lives. No human born prior to now has ever had a better chance at growing up in a peaceful and prosperous word than right at this moment. So what this means is that in order to sell their product, the media is required to cause strife when and where it can. Recently, so hungry for a story, CNN ran a video of the Knob Creek machine gun shoot as violence in Turkey. Folks, this isn't even Journalism 101 kinda stuff to check ones sources. It is common sense.
So, I didn't mean to go off on a rant...but here we are. The greatest opponent we, as a nation, face...is stupidity. A population so lazy, stupid, and willing to accept whatever narrative is fed to them to actually believe that somehow they are downtrodden or the nation is in crisis.