Healing the Divide
We all understand that we live in what seems to be an increasingly divided world. I doubt that many of us like that situation and I know most of us scratch our heads and wonder why it has to be that way. Today’s Washington Post had a lead article that seems to offer some explanation. The problem is thought to be rooted in the age old cultural phenomenon of tribalism. Tribalism is all about the tendency of people to seek out their like kind and bond with them into groups that are intended in a primordial sense to help insure survival. Sociologists say that part of tribalistic tendencies is to exhibit visceral dislike for the opposition. It is clear that our politics have become way more emotional and far less rational in many senses. It seems that policy issues and reality simply matter less than the emotional support for the side…whichever side. That is a distressing trend for people like myself that are used to reasoning with people and using that form of debate to win people over. When tribalism takes over, there simply is no rationale that wins over people. They need to find their own resolution at an emotional level to make them change their perspective.
That does not mean that they will never ever change, but rather that change does not come easily nor does it come necessarily from a factual dialogue with the normal applications of the rules of evidence. People need to almost be shocked or shaken into a new belief system to get themselves detached from their primal tribal instincts. If Donald Trump confronts them up close and personal and offends some sensibility or challenges some core belief they hold sacred, then and only then they might detach and be psychologically available for persuasion. Reading about the E. Jean Carroll case or hearing the tape from the Access Hollywood bus might not suffice, but having him disabuse some woman they know might. But it takes a lot in this environment and sometimes normal bald-faced facts are not enough. Joe Biden is testing some liberal’s and especially progressive’s belief system due to his ongoing support for Israel while they are firmly on the side of Palestinians. Using logic and diplomatic rationale to justify the position is unlikely to help.
There have recently been some developments that might finally start to break down these tribal barriers. To begin with Trump has recently made some noticeable and telling misstatements that have conflated Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi and generally shown the world that he is losing the thread even during his uncontested appearances and rallies. This growing sign of weakness is just the sort of breach in the Trump wall that leaves open a gap for exploitation that seek to break the tribal leader hold that Trump has on his followers. By definition a tribal leader must be strong of body and mind and must show that he is virtually immortal. Trump will be 78 at the election and Biden will be 82, almost 83. There is a 31 month age difference between them but the normal mortality tables reduce that difference to 22 months. Given Trump’s weight compared to Biden’s, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that they are in a dead heat to the finish line. But we are in a more subtle zone since mental capacity is harder to figure off of an actuarial table. Biden may occasionally stutter, an affliction he has had since childhood, but Trump is now showing signs of being non-compis-mentis, which is pretty damn serious for a man aspiring to the presidency. During the late stages of his first term he was a serious candidate for the 25th Amendment for removal on the grounds of mental disability. We are now four years later and he would appear to be a candidate for that action before even going into office.
It was also recently reported that one of Trump’s greatest acolytes, Sean Hannity has decided to leave liberal woke New York to join Trump in conservative red Palm Beach, Florida. This has brought about a conversation about the perils of conformity in our national lifestyle. This balkanization on the grounds of politics has become all too real as measured by the population shifts and ensuing election results over the past forty years. What was a preference in America for diverse views amount neighbors that would lead to lively and healthy policy debates has devolved into an intolerance for different views and a preference for single-mindedness and consistently of thought. While WWII galvanized us into one nation set against the tyranny of fascism, the economic trials and tribulations of the 1970s drove us to wonder about our future given the competition in oil, steel and cars. The very people we had conquered in WWII and those like Saudi Arabia that we had helped were at our throats in a competitive sense. Those who could compete did so from their urban bases and those who could not for lack of education or manufacturing orientation were left in the dust. This began the latest great migration that has divided the country into red and blue states as we know them today. This impacted a full ⅓ of the population of the U.S. and not surprisingly, it is that ⅓ that has morphed into the Trump base that has fallen under the populist spell of charlatan Trump, who like all populist leaders, plays to their fears and weaknesses. It is good and well that Sean Hannity wants to retire to Florida to be around like-minded individuals, or perhaps to serve at the Trump alter more closely.
But the traditions and strength of American democracy are rooted in diversity of the population and the necessary dialogue that must take place on an ongoing basis between all sides of American political thought. I do not sometimes enjoy the discourse between me and my conservative acquaintances. I find their obstinance as frustrating as I’m sure they do mine, but we continue the dialogue despite that. It’s interesting that it takes on mostly an economic tone since these guys are at least as wealthy as I am and more and they are benefiting at least as much as I am with the stock market recently hitting new heights under the tutelage of Joe Biden’s administration. And yet they find irrational reasons why it would be better without Biden in the seat and with Trump or someone of like orientation in it instead. Like all tribal dialogue, what it lacks in rationality it makes up for in emotion. The only way to end this tribal divide is probably to do the opposite of what Hannity has posited as his politically-motivated move to the heart of the red constituency, where everyone agrees with his view of the world. Better that we live in a less comfortable diversity than in the great divide that is overwhelming us and sapping us of our national strength. Healing the divide needs to be a national priority.