In a class I once took on Communication and Culture, one of the readings we had said that people like to define themselves as what they are not in a way to give the impression of what they are to others. Often, accomplishing things is harder but it is much easier to avoid doing something as there are many more alternatives. This is at odds with Christianity which preaches that only evil is the absence of good while good must therefore be something to strive for in our lives. Yet it seems our current political climate has only continued to drive the opposition to things instead of clarifying what it is people want to accomplish.
People like to constantly complain about how allegedly divided our society is. I personally have never liked this argument as it seems more like an opportunity to scapegoat. How many people have complained about society in a way that could be defined as “People are too divided these days. They need to shut up and support me instead!” despite the obvious divisiveness of those statements? Yet it does not change the fact that there are real causes for divisions the public are overlooking.
The last several decades have seen the decline in social capital and community. Church attendance among Catholics has declined from 75% in 1955 to 39% by 2018, involvement in fraternal organizations has declined, the percent of affiliated labor union members is down by 25% in the same timeframe, movie ticket sales are down as people go out less, and the list goes on of ways people are socializing less. Meanwhile, the rise of social media, streaming services, and increased delivery from restaurants suggests that people are slowly becoming disconnected from society as they instead enjoy their alone time more than social hours.
People may not realize this but the lack of this connection is actually how we become divided. Since we do not spend time with each other, do not do things together, and do not connect on the same private levels, we lack the same values, interests, and ability to understand each other. This leads to social isolation and thus reduces empathy. So real division is not the oversimplified “hate the other guy,” it is “be apathetic to the other guy to the point that you can no longer relate.”
Our politics therefore follow this division instead of causing. The purpose of campaigns are coalition building so if you get multiple groups together that cannot connect with other groups, then they cannot connect with those outside of their circle. This means that candidates who have something for those groups will not have something to offer other groups. And why should one support a candidate at all if they have nothing to offer?
Well, once again, creating things is hard so when they cannot unite around shared interests that are gone, they create bogeymen to scare the groups to hate. Since they cannot connect with those groups, they come to believe they are in competition with them and that leads to tribalism. So this is exploited, not created, by politics.
In order to get those groups together, scapegoats are created and demonized. However, since those scapegoats are likely registered voters, that incentivizes them to oppose the original group to protect their own interests. With that comes the realization that there will always be division because the opposing party has nothing to offer besides assurance they will not consider you a bad person if you support them.
Take a look at campaign ads. Ask yourself how often candidates talk about what they want to do if elected versus how much they oppose. Look at social media and ask if people are discussing solutions or how much they think the other guy sucks. Any of these are signs that the people running have no real plan, just assurance that they will not be what you hate.
Multiple political actions and platforms have been calling for the elimination of things instead of improving livelihood. There were riots (which create nothing), there were calls to eliminate the police (with tepid promises of increased social workers which never got serious looking into), there was the full on demonization and attempted ruining of lives on social media through cancel culture (Gina Carano and Chris Pratt got attacked for not publicly virtue signaling), and the only response to complaints about the lockdowns, people losing their jobs, and long term mental health problems was the assurance that you were a selfish person if you did not support them and your concerns were unimportant. There has been nothing positive in the current political system and no actual goals to accomplish.
This is the issue for those trying to convince themselves that getting rid of certain people will fix anything. Already, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has called for blacklisting Trump supporters from politics while Rep. Cori Bush has called for expelling Republican members of congress while the New York Times has been attacking free speech. This will only further alienate those groups as they are not focused on unifying anyone but merely blacklisting the people they do not like. When those people do not have a way to engage in society, they will further isolate.
A class I took in grad school said that positions do not unite people but interests do. I have used that in politics to mean our political positions do not, but the goals and values we want do. What has always been the focus for all voters such as jobs, upward mobility, increased income, and freedom have been appealing to many different groups.
Until we the people actually start focusing on rebuilding that social capital, joining groups, getting along, and focusing on what we want to accomplish instead of merely what we oppose, our divisions will continue. Our politics are a symptom of the problem, not the cause of our divisions. If we keep trying to get rid of the “bad people” without changing ourselves and what we want to accomplish, there will never be a connection.
People like to constantly complain about how allegedly divided our society is. I personally have never liked this argument as it seems more like an opportunity to scapegoat. How many people have complained about society in a way that could be defined as “People are too divided these days. They need to shut up and support me instead!” despite the obvious divisiveness of those statements? Yet it does not change the fact that there are real causes for divisions the public are overlooking.
The last several decades have seen the decline in social capital and community. Church attendance among Catholics has declined from 75% in 1955 to 39% by 2018, involvement in fraternal organizations has declined, the percent of affiliated labor union members is down by 25% in the same timeframe, movie ticket sales are down as people go out less, and the list goes on of ways people are socializing less. Meanwhile, the rise of social media, streaming services, and increased delivery from restaurants suggests that people are slowly becoming disconnected from society as they instead enjoy their alone time more than social hours.
People may not realize this but the lack of this connection is actually how we become divided. Since we do not spend time with each other, do not do things together, and do not connect on the same private levels, we lack the same values, interests, and ability to understand each other. This leads to social isolation and thus reduces empathy. So real division is not the oversimplified “hate the other guy,” it is “be apathetic to the other guy to the point that you can no longer relate.”
Our politics therefore follow this division instead of causing. The purpose of campaigns are coalition building so if you get multiple groups together that cannot connect with other groups, then they cannot connect with those outside of their circle. This means that candidates who have something for those groups will not have something to offer other groups. And why should one support a candidate at all if they have nothing to offer?
Well, once again, creating things is hard so when they cannot unite around shared interests that are gone, they create bogeymen to scare the groups to hate. Since they cannot connect with those groups, they come to believe they are in competition with them and that leads to tribalism. So this is exploited, not created, by politics.
In order to get those groups together, scapegoats are created and demonized. However, since those scapegoats are likely registered voters, that incentivizes them to oppose the original group to protect their own interests. With that comes the realization that there will always be division because the opposing party has nothing to offer besides assurance they will not consider you a bad person if you support them.
Take a look at campaign ads. Ask yourself how often candidates talk about what they want to do if elected versus how much they oppose. Look at social media and ask if people are discussing solutions or how much they think the other guy sucks. Any of these are signs that the people running have no real plan, just assurance that they will not be what you hate.
Multiple political actions and platforms have been calling for the elimination of things instead of improving livelihood. There were riots (which create nothing), there were calls to eliminate the police (with tepid promises of increased social workers which never got serious looking into), there was the full on demonization and attempted ruining of lives on social media through cancel culture (Gina Carano and Chris Pratt got attacked for not publicly virtue signaling), and the only response to complaints about the lockdowns, people losing their jobs, and long term mental health problems was the assurance that you were a selfish person if you did not support them and your concerns were unimportant. There has been nothing positive in the current political system and no actual goals to accomplish.
This is the issue for those trying to convince themselves that getting rid of certain people will fix anything. Already, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has called for blacklisting Trump supporters from politics while Rep. Cori Bush has called for expelling Republican members of congress while the New York Times has been attacking free speech. This will only further alienate those groups as they are not focused on unifying anyone but merely blacklisting the people they do not like. When those people do not have a way to engage in society, they will further isolate.
A class I took in grad school said that positions do not unite people but interests do. I have used that in politics to mean our political positions do not, but the goals and values we want do. What has always been the focus for all voters such as jobs, upward mobility, increased income, and freedom have been appealing to many different groups.
Until we the people actually start focusing on rebuilding that social capital, joining groups, getting along, and focusing on what we want to accomplish instead of merely what we oppose, our divisions will continue. Our politics are a symptom of the problem, not the cause of our divisions. If we keep trying to get rid of the “bad people” without changing ourselves and what we want to accomplish, there will never be a connection.
