As I sit here on the eve of the 2020 presidential election, I mourn the passing of a great American tradition.
We used to believe that ideas were worth discussing, that policies were worth debating, and that candidates were worth considering. Today we simply swing to the right or the left, hopelessly polarized to one of the two major political parties.
We used to value each other enough to believe each other worthy of convincing to our side. Today, we throw in the towel and condemn and alienate the opposing view, discarding their ideas as flat-earth and the person who holds them as neanderthal.
We attack people, not ideas. Both traditional media and social media don’t help us choose, they simply segregate us into communities of the already-chosen.
And perhaps worst of all, politics has replaced religion in American life. And this is a faith where the sheep blindly follow, unquestioning, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Whatever happens tomorrow, November 3rd 2020, it will neatly fit into a narrative that was created long ago in the minds of the already-convinced. One thing is for certain, no minds will be changed.
We used to believe in nuance, that truth didn’t fit neatly into one party’s talking points. Today, we believe in the political party, and have slaughtered nuance at its feet.