Polarized: Prologue
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Well, we’ve got a new President. I think he’s going to be a damn good one—even by historical standards. And certainly, compared to his predecessor, we’re moving from hurricane darkness to a sunrise of relief.
So, why doesn’t this feel better? Why, when supposedly “everything’s changed,” does it seem like very little really has?
There’s something deep and sinister at work here. Certainly, If you ever doubted that, everything was made clearer when the MAGAts stormed into our Capitol. Yes, we were shocked—but still, we all saw it coming.
The reality is this: we on the left can’t stand Trump’s voters—and they can’t stand us. That’s the way it is. In this sense, nothing has changed at all.
If looked for a prime example, we need only look at the continued surge of the pandemic. Former Obama political aide Dan Pfeiffer looked back at this Presidential campaign, thinking about the impact of COVID-19…
“we (Democrats) were operating under the wrong impression about the political salience of the pandemic. It was more a 50/50 issue, one which by default became just an issue of identity. I think identity is the most important signifier in politics—more important than policy, more important than ideology.”
The landslide winner in the election was polarization; the Trumpies decided to identify with him, not their country. And polarization shows every sign of tightening its grip over the next four years.
Yes, we’re tired of it. We want it to go away. We all have lives to lead. We need to make America at least functional, if not united. But 74 million of us voted for Donald Trump.
There is no magic answer for solving this. But unless we try to explore why we have these diametric divides, we’ll never bridge them. So that’s why this issue of the Cascade Review is devoted to three infrequently mentioned aspects of polarization:
Polarized: Toxic Masculinity
Polarized: AOC, STFU
Polarized: Density and Destiny
We invite you to read along and register your thoughts in the Your Turn tab at the top of the homepage.
And, oh yeah--Happy New Year!
Have a comment or thought on this? Just hit the Your Turn tab here or email us at mailbox@cascadereview.net to have your say.
