“The social scientists have concluded that the country is more polarized than at any time since the Civil War.”
Sounds like a pretty good description of the world today, right? But it’s actually a quote from the first episode of “The Newsroom,” which aired in 2012.
I hear lots of folks talk about how much worse things have gotten recently, and they possibly have, but this episode reminded me this is not a new phenomenon. And it makes me wonder what to do about it.
Braver Angels might have the answer. I first heard of the nonprofit on Ten Percent Happier (now Happier) — my favorite source of information and insights — and I was immediately impressed with the group’s mission.
Braver Angels is made up of a group of volunteers who work to bring Red and Blue citizens together to find “a hopeful alternative to toxic politics,” the group’s website reads.
“As we separate into groups that increasingly do not even know, or interact with, people of differing opinions, we lose trust in our institutions, eroding the ability to govern ourselves and lowering the caliber of citizenship,” it goes on to state. “This growing trend coarsens public debate, produces policy gridlock, shrinks our capacity for goodwill and harms our family and personal relationships. Effective self-government depends precisely on what this type of polarization destroys.”
The group operates according to a list of principles that includes stating views freely and fully, treating those who disagree with honesty and respect, avoiding exaggeration and stereotypes and believing that disagreements can lead to sharing and learning on both sides.
Most of us can point to reasons things have become so divisive in this country — at least those of us who aren’t stuck in a “The other side are idiots!” mindset. Perhaps the primary factor is social media, where people can say whatever they want to say without having to look another person in the eye. I used to think people would say things on social media that they wouldn’t say face-to-face. How things have changed.
Social media algorithms also allow us to keep believing what we believe by feeding us information we like and with which we agree. Because of this confirmation bias, our opinions are rarely challenged, which means we don’t have to think about why we hold them.
I’ve hoped that one day this country would have a leader or a group of leaders who would set the example for us, reinstating the practice of productive disagreement and the value of compromise. I’ve been waiting for that for quite some time and in all honesty have lost hope.
I think Braver Angels has it right. Citizens need to set the example for respectful discourse and cooperation, and then demand that same type of behavior from those we elect to office. But we don’t need to get involved with Braver Angels (visit http://www.braverangels.org if you want to) in order to start this process. As individuals we can follow the group’s principles, taking advantage of opportunities to talk to those with different political views.
Instead of trying to convince them why they are wrong, we can try to learn why they think what they think. If we’re lucky, maybe they’ll be interested in learning more about why we support our own positions as well.
Some would like to just wait it out, hoping that after Nov. 5, the rhetoric will calm down. I doubt that will happen. And I firmly believe that if we’re not careful, this divisiveness will become even more pronounced in local elections for village and school boards in the spring.
And the danger, unfortunately, isn’t limited to politics. If we can’t learn how to hold different opinions and still be civil with one another, soon we won’t be able to talk about literature or music or art or any other topic.
How does that look? Watch the film “Idiocracy” to find out.
— Pamela Lannom is editor
of The Hinsdalean. Readers
can email her at
