No one gets out of bed in the morning to act crazy. Yet, in our wildly polarized times, we may feel that “those others” have lost it. They haven’t, and they think we have. How can we make sense of this? How can we see beyond tribalism?
In April this year, I received an email from Freedom Watch. To me, it was a right-wing rant of inflammatory statements such as: “We know that Joe Biden, in eight short weeks, through radical executive decrees, has brought the nation to its knees [what?!] and on the verge of extinction [gee, why hadn’t I noticed?!] with a flood of border crimes.”
These are milder versions of the beliefs that Hillary Clinton eats babies, Democrats are Satanists, Covid vaccinations insert mind-controlling microchips, and the election was stolen. How can we understand why people believe such “truths”?
Academics and pollsters are exploring what compels some to these alternate realities. Their developing picture looks something like this.
It’s Scary Out There
Our rapidly changing world leaves people feeling and living the effects of disorientation and ever-shifting threats. Fear is the dominant reaction; an all-pervasive, enveloping fear. It’s the terror of uncertainty, loss of self and place, and an uncontrollable urge for survival and protection from . . . . well, that depends on how we each define the threat.
Often the threat is over-simplified as “others”. Those whose appearance and values I don’t understand or share, but (I believe) are causing all of these problems. This fear drives me to the security of people who look and talk like me, people who seem to understand me, who will care for me and include me in their tribe.
If my need for this support is strong enough — and it mirrors the strength of my fears — I’ll believe their truths and the alternate realities that seem strange, even ridiculous, to outsiders. All of us apparently do this to some degree or another.
But are these alternate realities so strange? To be honest, we each believe many non-science truths. Where are you on life after death or an omniscient God, on money, democracy, and free enterprise? These are all people-created fictions.
Amidst the chaos, political leaders goad our fears for their own purposes, to attract and mobilize voters. Businesses tap our insecurities and anxieties to sell us a never-ending stream of “solutions”.
Uncaring Leaders
In a more caring society, leaders would reduce fear, not stoke it. Indeed, I like to think the purpose of society is to support satisfied, fulfilled members, not create scared, frightened consumers. But judging from their behavior, our elected leaders prefer stormy seas to a quiet harbor.
I try to counter this by not “otherizing” people. Others are not stupid, lazy, or crazy. We are each terribly vulnerable as we fearfully, and joyfully, navigate this mysterious, surprising, scary, complicated world.
I try to remember that we are all in this together, but being human, I often forget. Here’s the big picture as I see it: We are one nation. We are constantly perfecting our union. Democracy is terrifically hard work. We are all stressed from the pandemic and other rapid global changes and threats. We have real problems to solve. I am only human. I can forgive myself and others. Love matters.
Thank you for reading.
Are you also exasperated by the current situation and our leaders? I’d like to hear.
me, Barry Phegan
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