Our Common Extremism Offers an Opportunity for Empathy and Healing
From June, 2024 - Pre Trump 2.0, and Luigi 1.0
I am a person who has written thousands of unpublished words; but, regrettably, I did not record my single best insight about contemporary America. Several years ago, while thinking about the rise of Trump and MAGA, I wondered if rather than representing an independent social development which was limited to the American right, MAGA was instead a symptom of a deeper national malady. I didn’t know what the sickness was - I still don’t - but I thought it possible that, for whatever reason, the Republican Party was more sensitive to the virus than the Democrats. Thus, while the GOP was the first political group to be strongly affected by this national illness, it might be only a matter of time before the Democrats started to exhibit serious symptoms of their own. To be clear, I was thinking in terms of decades, not years; but, in retrospect, the rise of a viewpoint intolerant progressive extremism on some of this country’s most illustrious campuses is consistent with my thesis. Basically, there’s something bad in the waters of America.
Now I recognize that the protesters, and their left wing supporters- many of whom, I imagine, read this paper - will strongly disagree with my characterization of the nationwide movement which emerged after the October 7th massacre (I submitted this to the NYT). That is fine, of course, but I am comfortable with my assessment, and my point in this article is to discuss where America is going now that political extremism has manifested itself, in a meaningful way, on both sides of the aisle (yes, there’s much more of it on the right than the left, but the gap is closing and convergence seems likely).
Like many other observers of these protests, I have developed very strong feelings about them, most of which are deeply negative. For example, it is easy to conjure up a dark vision of America where a beleaguered center is surrounded by MAGA on the right, progressive extremists on the left, and, arguably most significantly, techno- authoritarians in Silicon Valley (a vital topic, but one for another day). Furthermore, it is equally easy, and frankly emotionally satisfying, to indulge in fantasies of vengeance against the various offending parties. Personally, I would be lying if I did not acknowledge that the spectacle of Dictator Trump putting the fear of God into the progressives next year would have a certain grim appeal. Finally, while this dystopian forecast does not yet represent reality, the political signs continue to point in a negative direction.
So, to sum up, things aren’t looking good. Radicalization seems to be all over the place - as the above paragraph indicates, I myself have been struggling with this dynamic in recent months - and the dream of a liberal, pluralistic democracy seems to be fading away. Oddly though, now that extremism is a bipartisan affair, there may be some hope.
Imagine a cliff on the coastline which curves around a pretty bay. Now place two groups of people at different spots. The first group consists of Republicans, some of whom are not entirely sure if they really want to ditch democracy for dictatorship, but most of whom are confident in that choice. The second group contains progressives, some of whom are worried that their movement is getting out of hand, but most of whom think things are fine. Both groups are asking themselves whether it is time to throw caution to the wind and plunge into the ocean below.
But then a few of them take a moment to look around and enjoy the gorgeous view, and the two sets of people see each other. Suddenly, the question shifts a bit; it’s not just a matter of their side taking the plunge, because it also matters if the other side dives off the cliff too. Moreover, beyond the issue of mutually assured political catastrophe, there’s also a purely social dimension. All things considered, might it not be best to stay on dry land, and invite the other group to lunch at the local clam shack? To be sure, this is rank idealism, but I actually do think that America has a better chance of healing political extremism if the problem is reasonably perceived to be a bipartisan one.
If either one of those groups were on the cliff alone, I think they would definitely jump; but with another group present, there’s at least a chance for constructive conversation.
So let’s forget about ideological battlefields, and instead focus on the human element. Both sides have shown their susceptibility to extremism, but maybe we can help each other out before America goes over the brink.