Your dedication to walking through all of this and how we got here is admirable. One part I latched onto in particular is how each side—left and right—only see the radicalization happening on the *other* side. They don’t really see it on their own side. Perhaps even worse, if they do see it, they’ll justify it with more Whataboutism than a moody teenager. The summer 2020 riots and the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol have become the two biggest pillars of this Whataboutism; each somehow justifying the other. Never mind that BOTH are so unforgivable and so antithetical to a functioning democracy that neither should ever be defended. The left defends the riots as a necessary form of protest, and ignores how much of it was just a violent lashing out and opportunity for looting and lawlessness. The right ignores that the entire reason people gathered in DC on January 6th (not January 7th or January 5th) *specifically* in an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. I personally don’t think the two events should ever be equated because of their massively different reasons for occurring, but when you push a lefty or a righty into a corner on their own side’s actions, they almost always cite the other side’s transgression.
I agree with your assessment and ways our discourse—and our democracy—could be improved. I would add that the thing we all must do is call out our own side for how they’ve contributed or continue to contribute to the problem. I don’t see much of this anywhere. I’ve long believed that the cops vs urban community disputes could only begin to be solved by an admission by each side that they’ve got problems in their own house. That’s true of damn near every conflict, whether it’s a war in the Balkans or one between spouses or family members. But an apparent hallmark of modern political discourse is that it’s ALL the other side’s fault. And you’re right that it’s precisely this attitude that the Russians are fostering.
Thanks Drew! Love the bits about calling out one’s own side for its excesses. With the tribalism we have today, it is pretty much the only way anyone will listen to criticism. People don’t take advice from “the enemy”
I tried to highlight that a little bit in the “Dynamic Coalitions …”’piece. The left and right need one another to balance out.
I originally was going to call this blog “Meet Me In the Middle” but settled on a far worse name lol.
Your dedication to walking through all of this and how we got here is admirable. One part I latched onto in particular is how each side—left and right—only see the radicalization happening on the *other* side. They don’t really see it on their own side. Perhaps even worse, if they do see it, they’ll justify it with more Whataboutism than a moody teenager. The summer 2020 riots and the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol have become the two biggest pillars of this Whataboutism; each somehow justifying the other. Never mind that BOTH are so unforgivable and so antithetical to a functioning democracy that neither should ever be defended. The left defends the riots as a necessary form of protest, and ignores how much of it was just a violent lashing out and opportunity for looting and lawlessness. The right ignores that the entire reason people gathered in DC on January 6th (not January 7th or January 5th) *specifically* in an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. I personally don’t think the two events should ever be equated because of their massively different reasons for occurring, but when you push a lefty or a righty into a corner on their own side’s actions, they almost always cite the other side’s transgression.
I agree with your assessment and ways our discourse—and our democracy—could be improved. I would add that the thing we all must do is call out our own side for how they’ve contributed or continue to contribute to the problem. I don’t see much of this anywhere. I’ve long believed that the cops vs urban community disputes could only begin to be solved by an admission by each side that they’ve got problems in their own house. That’s true of damn near every conflict, whether it’s a war in the Balkans or one between spouses or family members. But an apparent hallmark of modern political discourse is that it’s ALL the other side’s fault. And you’re right that it’s precisely this attitude that the Russians are fostering.
Thanks Drew! Love the bits about calling out one’s own side for its excesses. With the tribalism we have today, it is pretty much the only way anyone will listen to criticism. People don’t take advice from “the enemy”
I tried to highlight that a little bit in the “Dynamic Coalitions …”’piece. The left and right need one another to balance out.
I originally was going to call this blog “Meet Me In the Middle” but settled on a far worse name lol.
Thanks for sharing Phil. Deep into it elsewhere at the moment but look forward to reading it and following up when I get a chance.
Epic piece Phil. I have a few qualms here and there but nicely done.
Thanks Sam!