Politics is no child’s game. - Braver Angels

Politics is no child’s game.

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This week . . . the beat goes on. Loaded language, straw man issues, bullying, flattering, finger pointing from the right…the left…the right…the left…right…left…right…left… It’s easy to dismiss it as is just politics as usual. But to do so means we’ve accepted this childish game as the acceptable normal. But it is not acceptable because politics is no child’s game. It is where citizens meet to hash out our deepest disagreements – and in doing so literally create the society, the civilization that we and our children will live in. Of course we disagree. But instead of facing and seriously trying to understand and resolve those disagreements like responsible adults, polarizers whine and whimper and shout “faker” “cheater” “boogeyman,” thus widening the gap of disagreement, incrementally moving from political conflict to potentially something far more dangerous, destructive and irrevocable. How do we change this trajectory? Step one: Stop shouting and start listening like your life depends on it. Because it does. 

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 some of the week’s most polarizing articles, from the left and right:

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