I don’t recall where you live but it is entirely possible that you don’t encounter the hard left and their holier than thou rigidity. You can find anecdotal examples on social media like Twitter, college campuses and some tech workplaces.
We have friends, who also happen to be my wife’s boss of a small company. We knew them before he formed the company. They are good people but they buy most of the Trump conspiracy / antivax stuff hook line and center. Occasionally we get together for drinks and politics comes up. Sometimes I can politely do the inquisitive dance, but sometimes I just can’t take it and I’ll get animated. Last time I just got up and left. It’s really awkward and we are taking a one week vacation with them in September. I’m just going to have to avoid politics altogether.
That's how politics works on the West Wing, a TV show from a couple decades ago, which is part of the problem. People seem to totally eliminate power dynamics from everything, and pretend they don't exist. Compromise only happens when you don't have maximal power and you have interests that align.
All that tells me is that one methodology has been more effective than the other at inciting violence. The root problem is still the same. There's a mutual lack of respect on both sides. The right answer is to be able to have a discussion where disagreement doesn't equal hatred.
I've shared this personal theory before, so perhaps I'm just being narcissistic in repeating. But I attribute the fact that so many right-wingers feel alienated by American society despite having the power in government to the cultural/political distinction. Liberals still have immense cultural power, majority cultural power. My wife and I have a bad in-joke that every time we see commercial featuring an interracial or same-sex couple, we just lost another congressional seat. A lot of the culture makes depictions of liberal culture unavoidable. Opponents view it as a indoctrination but I see it as commerce. If you're selling consumer goods or just seeking ratings, you appeal to the 25 to 54 demographic. You generally don't care where they're situated or their legal status; you just seek dollars. The dollar spent by a consumer living in Wyoming is not worth 66 times more than the dollar spent by a consumer living in California. Dollars spent by nonvoters or even undocumented consumers do not count for less. Dollars spent by older people are actually worth less, counterintuitively, because businesses seek lifetime loyal consumers and cultural cachet by appealing to a younger set, to the vanity of youth and vitality and sex. For all those reasons, lots of TV content and advertising is directed towards a younger urban audience which feels alien to the Republican base. So they feel alienated and imposed upon. They wield disproportionate political power because of a lot of structural systems of our government give them disproportionate power. They don't get that culturally. Almost every predisposition in their favor politically acts against them culturally. Which is why people like our governor try to legally mandate culture to favor the political majority. Plus there's the classic nostalgia/Milton/prelapsarian fallacy. Everyone views most change as threatening; it's human instinct. And we all seek to understand our world as simpler and less random than it really is. We like to consume history and news in narrative when it is far more quantum and influenced by unseen laws with no conception of human fairness. Few humans ever reach the level where they can accept that “injustice” with equanimity. That's the intended endpoint of most philosophy and religion. Part of my instinctual attraction to Christianity, although this paradox exists in some form in most space, is the classic Christian paradox, whereby you experienced the most happiness when you stop seeking personal gratification and the things you believe make you happy. Few of us can live it consistently; I know I don't. We are therefore restless and discontented. So we seek to exert control over that which we cannot control by definition. We are angry when that fails, as it inevitably will.
To me, the far more interesting question is why has one "methodology" been more effective. Because, as I pointed out, it is hard to act like we should respect people talking about ridiculous things like pizza restaurant child sex rings.
How do you make people respect each other? When a political system can not improve ordinary people's lives as its beholden to monied interests that decimate jobs and ways of life, its easy to point fingers as to who's the culprit, and then politics will revolve around promising to punish or anger the people responsible for who you think did whatever. And if that's all the system can deliver, for a lot of people, that's better than nothing.
It's a good question and honestly I don't know the answer. As far as the second half of your response, maybe I'm "special" (take that however you want to ) in this regard, but I've almost always been able to disagree with someone, even vehemently or on a foundational level, and not let it affect my relationship with them. I don't hate someone for a different viewpoint regardless of how "out there" or "crazy" the viewpoint is. It doesn't move the needle for me to hate someone over a difference of thinking. So I can always still treat with respect someone I disagree with. Not an easy thing! It may be that the system is already too far gone to recover. At the very least it's an extremely difficult road. You do touch on the beginning of a solution which is to take the money and special interests out of politics. Congress will never do it of course, but that would be a start.
It should be noted that Congress did attempt to do that with McCain-Feingold, and the Roberts court said that most of its provisions violate the Constitution. Even if Congress wanted to, it cant as long as people want to stand by the legitimacy and powers of the SCOTUS (or unless the court is reformed, or rebalanced).
Again, proves the point. While disparaging Trump, which what you say may be true, do you like it when the other side says you elected an inept old plagiarism practicing liar do nothing 47-year? neither does anything to move the ball forward on solving the issues no matter how true both statements may be. If you can't see that, then there is no need to engage in any form on discussion with you
Seems like making fun of a leader comes with the territory, and if that's all this is about, I think its a pretty shallow complaint. We make fun of FSU or UGA fans all the time, and their players and coaches. It is harmless because everyone thinks the game itself is fair, and can respect the outcome when you lose, because there is always another game, you just have to get better. I don't think that's the case with the political system.
I hear you and don't disagree that poking fun is par for the course. But both sides go past poking fun and attacks get personal about you or me. That's when we have a problem and I think that's where we are now! This thread, other than a couple drive posts, I have hit agree and like to post's from participants that I have nearly put on ignore in past. So, if we all elevate our respect levels it can be done
Seems like too far would be when political violence and intimidation is common place (not being overly mean with words), its pretty rare now. Not to say that's not possible (it certainly is since we are seemingly overturning the 20th century for the 19th century, when political violence was much more common), but for now, that's not reality.
I'm sure I'm the exception, but I will talk about politics with almost anyone in person - unless they're super angry about it cuz that's neither educational nor fun. My anecdotal experience is that most people I talk to do not have extremist views and are somewhat moderate/practical or at least have some nuanced positions. I think social media really amplifies the fringe voices. In addition, even some otherwise pretty nice and normal people I know (both sides of the aisle) come across as mean, fanatical lunatics on Facebook, but I've never seen them act like that in person. That's one reason I just mostly avoid politics altogether on Facebook.
Not sure how rare these days!!! Jan 6th, Summer of Love riots, planning to kill a supreme, the jack a$$ white supremist killing, the jacka$$ Black racist subway shooter. I would say not nearly as rare as it was.
