Can we lower toxic polarization while still opposing Trump?
- By m.knox
- Current Events Board
- 14 Replies
No. The democratic party cannot. For one, the majority are unhinged. Two, the leadership is composed of several extremists. Extremism by nature is toxic. Three, hatred is far too powerful an emotion.
Nice try though. Almost admirable, but certainly not founded in reality.
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaig...oxic-polarization-while-still-opposing-trump/
But I also see many sources of division around us. I often write about the ways liberals have contributed to toxicity. Our divides are self-reinforcing: contempt leads to contempt; righteous certainty provokes more of the same. Both sides focus on the worst of the other, fueling the belief that “they started it” and therefore it’s not our responsibility to lower the temperature.
I think a lot of anti-Trump approaches have backfired. When liberals unfairly demean Trump supporters, or interpret Trump’s statements in the worst possible light, they deepen conservatives’ feeling of being under siege and push them further into warlike thinking.
Nice try though. Almost admirable, but certainly not founded in reality.
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaig...oxic-polarization-while-still-opposing-trump/
But I also see many sources of division around us. I often write about the ways liberals have contributed to toxicity. Our divides are self-reinforcing: contempt leads to contempt; righteous certainty provokes more of the same. Both sides focus on the worst of the other, fueling the belief that “they started it” and therefore it’s not our responsibility to lower the temperature.
I think a lot of anti-Trump approaches have backfired. When liberals unfairly demean Trump supporters, or interpret Trump’s statements in the worst possible light, they deepen conservatives’ feeling of being under siege and push them further into warlike thinking.