The monsters are due in America

Inauguration Day is here, and just about everyone has something to say about it.

Clearly, it is a time of political chaos, social activism, and so much more. People are at each other's throats. So I'm left to wonder - what would Rod Serling think about all of this?

I know that a lot of people may be scratching their heads, wondering what perspective the creator of the "Twilight Zone" could offer on the current news.

But really, think about it. As a fan of the series, it's easy to see that Serling was a master of allegory, weaving political and social hot topics of his time into fantastic narratives with a science fiction or horror twist.

At this moment, I'm reminded of the episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," a classic tale from the first season. The plot revolves around a sudden power outage on the titular street, which initially leaves the residents scratching their heads in confusion. It doesn't take long for paranoia to set in, after a young boy spurs the idea that alien invaders are executing a sinister plan.

Neighbors accuse one another of being part of the invasion, eventually inciting a riot. One character is shot dead, with the shooter quickly accused of being an alien who had to silence someone who was going to reveal him to the crowd.

The ending reveals that, in this case, aliens were to blame - they were testing a method to drive a community to chaos, to tear itself apart in order to facilitate an easy invasion.

While this episode is rather clearly an allusion to the Communist witch-hunts in the McCarthy era, I always looked at it with a slightly broader perspective. It showed that just a dash of uncertainty could easily erupt into chaos, and how apt humanity is to tear itself apart.

Sound familiar? An abundance of stories are popping up about families and friends dividing over their votes for president, their stance on issues like immigration.

Making a simple statement that sways to the liberal or conservative side can incite instant hatred. While yesterday you may have been having a friendly barbecue with the neighbors, today they are your mortal enemies.

It worries me that we could end up like the folks on Maple Street, prone to pointing fingers and bringing one another down with but a few words to spur us on.

What we need to remember is that we are all residents of this country.

We all have a stake in the game, and we need to try to understand each other in order to live together.

No, you won't always get along with people who have opposing beliefs, but there has to be an effort to discuss things rationally. It won't be perfect. It won't always work.

Remember, though, that a community divided is that much weaker. Let's not let some nefarious force, otherworldly or not, take advantage of this nation.