On American Election Day, U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, tweeted the following noble sentiment: "To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies.  We are not enemies."

Biden's right, of course.

In a democracy, partisan differences shouldn't divide society into eternally warring camps that relentlessly hate each other.

But will anyone listen to Biden's plea?

Maybe, but I'm dubious.

In fact, an anti-Trump conservative friend of mine recently told me he's happy Biden won not because he liked Biden, but because he wants to go back to hating Democrats.

And yes, there are lots of people like my friend, conservatives, who, either because they didn't like US President Donald Trump's policies or because they couldn't stand his rash, unpredictable and sometimes boorish personality, were willing to form reluctant alliances with anyone who opposed him.

But with Trump soon to be gone from office will such people now go back to despising Democrats, their traditional enemy?  I'm betting the answer is yes.  (I'm assuming here, Biden's victory will stick and won't be overturned by any legal challenges.  But this is 2020, so who knows?)

Then there's Trump's loyal base.

Still stinging from defeat, I highly doubt pro-Trumpers are going to emerge from this election ready to stop treating Democrats as enemies.

If anything, they'll likely be angrier and more resentful than ever, convinced that Biden cheated their guy out of the presidency.  Plus, I fully expect an ousted Trump will maintain a high-profile presence, which he'll use to keep his base agitated, energized and ready to rumble.

In response, Biden's base -which includes Hollywood-style progressives, billionaire capitalists and hard-core left-wing socialists, will naturally continue to zealously lash out against Trump and his supporters.

So, in short, the rancor that has characterized the past four years of political discourse in America will likely continue and maybe even get worse.

Mind you, had Biden been able to live up to the American media's hype, i.e., had he electorally crushed the Republicans on Election night, the situation might be different.

After all, not only would a huge and humiliating loss for the Republicans have shattered Trump's mystique, but it would have demoralized and disheartened his base, taking the fight out of them.

But, of course, Biden barely eked out a victory, while the Republicans did better than expected in Congressional races.

And there's an additional twist to consider in all this.

As already noted, Biden's base is a heterogenous group, and once he occupies the White House, it's entirely possible his various Democratic clans, tribes and factions will start seeing each other as enemies.

I mean, how long can you keep billionaire capitalists and hard-core socialists harmoniously singing from the same hymnbook?

Indeed, there's all sorts of sensitive issues that might cause Democratic schisms: foreign policy, taxes, immigration, defunding the police, etc.

Nor is Biden the kind of leader who can keep his forces united on the basis of a sparkling personality.

Let's face it, Barack Obama, he ain't.

Mind you, any cracks in the Democratic façade likely won't show up for a while.

For one thing, hatred against Trump and his legions will continue to linger on for a while in the left-wing community, welding Democrats together.  (By the way, this is why, despite his nice tweet, Biden will have a vested interest in portraying Republicans as "enemies.")

Secondly, I'm certain the American media will do its best in the weeks ahead to glorify Biden as a great Messiah who saved the country from right-wing populist hordes, just as the Canadian media deified Justin Trudeau after he dispatched Stephen Harper.

This joyous message will also be amplified by America's cultural and corporate elites.

All that non-stop propaganda should, at least temporarily, create an era of "good feelings" among Democratic factions.

But as political tensions mount and you know they inevitably will mount it could trigger savage internal political squabbling within the Democratic party.

In short, it won't be long before everybody hates everybody.

At least, that's the way it will be on social media and on cable news shows.

Luckily, most Americans won't be paying attention to all that noise and hate, since they'll be more worried about the price of groceries.

Photo Credit: NBC News