Brett Kavanaugh and Polarization

This week . . . was all about Brett Kavanaugh. Again. Whatever you feel about the outcome, one lessons stands out: Polarization works. Reportedly advised by the Trump team to show his anger, Judge Kavanaugh came out swinging. Of course it’s hard to know the impact, but the fact is, he is now JusticeKavanaugh. Which does seem to confirm that the tactic of polarization is effective. Which is no surprise. It worked for the Nazis. It worked for the Bolsheviks. It worked for lynch mobs and vigilantes and the Ku Klux Klan.

Some bemoan polarization because it creates gridlock. That’s true as long as the polarizing forces are evenly balanced. But when one side gets the upper hand, it’s chillingly efficient, slashing through the messy, slow Gordian Knot of hearing and assessing arguments, weighing evidence, gathering (actual) facts and (actually) deliberating. And we know from pop culture how satisfying slashing through that pesky Knot can be. Just go back and watch Charles Bronson’s Death Wish vigilante-paean movie (or any of it’s four sequels.) Or what appears to be its most recent remake, Peppermint, in theatres now! (Full disclosure: I’ve only seen the trailer.)

But while it’s easy to celebrate the power of polarization when your side wins, it’s worth remembering the cost, which is freedom. Because freedom is nothing more than a process, a “rule book” for allowing for and resolving disagreement. That is all our check-and-balance, due-process, Gordian-Knot Constitution (and, really, America) is.

It will be interesting to see Justice Kavanaugh’s interpretation of this in the years ahead. But for now, as the virulent anti- and pro- Kavanaugh forces pump their fists or lick their wounds and point fingers and glower at each other across their snarling op-eds, it might be worth taking some time to consider what they are doing to us, our nation and our ideals – and whether it’s time to just stop listening to them. Especially when we agree.

When reading these examples, check the above list and ask yourself: regardless of whether you agree or disagree, is this really advancing an intelligent resolution through the persuasive, rational arguments of advocacy…or simply fueling the fire of conflict through the divisive, emotional manipulations of polarization?

Here are just a few of the blue and red polarizing headlines from the past week.