This week . . . the “debate” over gun control continues — dominated by threats, slogans, epithets, accusations — as a sad example of the state of how serious, complex issues involving conflicting values are handled in America today. Nobody listens with respect. Everybody shouts in anger. This is not how problems are solved. It’s how authoritarianism rises. The topic may be guns…or taxes…or immigrants…or bathrooms. But the stakes are much higher than any single issue. When do we notice what we’re losing?
*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 week’s polarizing headlines, from the left and right:
