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Political Tribalism: At What Cost?
Today, political parties are no longer just the people who are supposed to govern the way you want. They are a team to support, and a tribe to feel a part of. And the public’s view of politics is becoming more and more zero-sum: It’s about helping their team win, and making sure the other team loses….
Partisan tribalism makes people more inclined to seek out and believe stories that justify their pre-existing partisan biases, whether or not they are true. — Amanda Taub
Overview
Tribalism is where we are. That much seems clear. It’s a problem. Do nothing to change how the two sides respond to one another, and it becomes a bigger problem tomorrow. We all might benefit from thinking about that, and how it’s likely to play itself out.
Proclaiming your side as consistently honorable, wise, patriotic, correct and all the rest all the time is certainly the easier choice. As for its value … not so much. That realization is all the more important when it’s recognized that the other side feels exactly the same about not just their own principled efforts, but about the ignorant and destructive objectives driving their political adversaries.
Conservatives and liberals/progressives are different from one another….At a time when political animosity directed toward those on the other side of public policy and cultural…
