Jon Stewert has gone viral lately with a few interviews he has been doing with politicians. These politicians have strong positions on issues; Jon grills them about their views, pointing out hypocrisy. It is eye-popping how easily he shows the fallacy in these perspectives. I have loved Jon for years, so I enjoy this work.
I was thinking: people see these videos and don't change their thoughts on the issues. The politicians Jon is engaging do not rethink and change their platforms based on the weakness of their arguments ... they continue with their perspective.
I saw someone reflecting on a politician's speech at a recent political conference. He noted that the headliner wasn't even attempting to present arguments of their position's strength, instead speaking about how evil and corrupt the other side is. "They're the enemy. I'll fight for you." "They're coming for us. I'll fight for you." "We're the good guys. They're trying to destroy our country." The commentator noted that this language attempts to motivate as the base, not persuade people to agree with them.
It made me think perhaps we don't live in a world where we hold opinions based on their strength. Instead of following ideas based on merit, we throw everything we have into supporting our team. Our default is that we agree with our teammates and disagree with the other team. Instead of living in a world of competing ideologies and theories, we live in a world of competing teams who seek to hold onto our membership in their club.
In this world, the goal is not to create a better place to live it is to beat the other team. We see our neighbors as the problem. We cannot give credit to others for their success. Instead, we look to claim credit for accomplishments no matter how small our part is. Misinformation is rampant because nobody can hear a fact check. It is a world where we've stopped critical thinking and looking for solutions, just ways to win.
The result is that we have a polarization of our country. We have a legislature that has become increasingly gridlocked. We have massive wealth inequality. We have a rotting infrastructure. We have a declining quality of life. We have ridiculous amounts of gun violence and continual mass shootings. We have a mental health crisis. Teacher shortages are everywhere. We have distrust in the systems. The issue is not that we lack the ability, rescources, or want to fix these problems. Our problem is that we are so entrenched in our ideological camps that we are notwilling to come together to solve problems. We are only willing to help people if its a win for our team.
Now, I know that this has been both-sidsing the problem. I think both sides struggle in this issue, especially as we've become more partisan and polarized in our country, but that does not mean that blame is equal. I believe that the rise of right winged nationalism in the country has expodentially increased this. Conservatives in our country have driven a wedge in the heart of democracy by become more hardline in their approach. At its core this is a mindset which says, "we're the true citizens, therefore our team gets a larger say." As we watch state legislatures enact ant-trans legislation, write anti-abortion laws, develop write strict laws regarding the teaching of racism, pushing misinformation regarding the 2020 election, pursue political retribution against people and corporations who stand agsint them, and make suggestions about a Civil War between red and blue states this polarization might become more and more exaggerated as we go.
My response to this:
work to have hard conversations with people who disagree with you.
when you interact with something you disagree with, ask, "am I wrong?”
work on seeing people who disagree with you as having different opinions, not as evil people wanting to destroy the world.