Polarization Is A Myth That Holds Us Back
The myth of division keeps us from progress, but history shows we can transcend divisions by embracing shared values, rejecting fear-based politics, and supporting leaders who build unity and hope.
By Jeremi Suri
The turbulence of our current moment is scary and dangerous. We see rising forces of exclusion, hate, and violence across our society. Depression and drug addiction are rampant in many communities. We are correct to be anxious as citizens about our future.
Those facts, however, do not justify cynicism or despair. Despondence is self-fulfilling and low expectations encourage a race to the bottom. Precisely because we have so many challenges, we must elucidate the many possibilities in our society and lean into them. We must demand change and reform with even more vigor, refusing to accept the poor performance of many institutions today.
Challenges and turbulence can, in fact, motivate big changes, at last. That was Thomas Jefferson's insight about the American founding, after years of conflict and instability. Commenting on the newly drafted U.S. Constitution from France in late 1787, Jefferson famously explained:
“What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance…. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Jefferson was NOT calling for violence, but he argued that strong disagreements could also produce advancements for liberty and democracy. We are too negative and despondent today. The disruptions and crises of the last few years might open space for necessary changes—changes neither party will monopolize.
What stands in the way is a pervasive negativism, reinforced by a corrosive myth that we are too divided to get anything done. It is our job, as historically informed citizens, to challenge this myth and restore a wider public sense of the possibilities for real accomplishment in our society. The myth of partisanship holds us back more than the reality of our divisions.
We see obvious political polarization in our elections, in Congress, and in most other political institutions. Democrats and Republicans are sharply and evenly divided, and they seem unable to work together on any major legislation. We also see sharp divisions around most issues, especially the war between Israel, Hamas, and now Hezbollah.
American society has always been a society with many divisions, and partisan polarization has been common in many other periods. Social media has surely made this polarization worse, especially through the algorithms that sort information so that we generally read things that reinforce our biases and prejudices.
Despite this very real polarization, Americans probably share more agreement on core issues than ever before
Most Americans—more than ever before—believe in racial equality and religious tolerance.
Most Americans—more than ever before—respect the romantic and love choices that individuals make.
Most Americans—more than ever since the start of the Vietnam War—support our soldiers.
Most Americans—more than ever before—pay taxes and follow the law. Crime has actually decreased across American society.
60-70% of Americans support a woman’s right to end a pregnancy following rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.
60-70% of Americans support limits on underage citizens purchasing assault rifles.
We are really not as polarized as we appear on our screens. Our institutions for fund-raising, which use emotion and fear to open our wallets, emphasize divisions: “Give me money to stop the other side from destroying your community.” And our media, which uses conflict to draw our attention, also highlights our differences: “Look at how one side is attacking the other.” As a consequence, we look more polarized than we are, and then we act accordingly. The imagined divisions harden because we neglect the commonalities, the agreements, and the shared interests.
How can we change this? It is very difficult because polarization has now become a common habit, a lazy alternative to the hard work of finding common ground. We must break this habit, and we must do that by leaning into the things we agree on. How?
In this election, we must all—Democrat, Republican, and Independent—reject the politics of division
Stop supporting candidates who lead with what makes the other side evil. Stop supporting candidates who assemble their platforms around attacking their opponents. Do not vote for more cynicism and division.
What we can all do is encourage candidates to tell us how they will build on what connects us. How will they help us live together? How will they keep us safe and healthy? And, perhaps most important, how will they make tomorrow better than today? We do not study history to condemn past decisions; we need history to help us understand who is most likely to take us forward with hope.
Polarization is a trap of our own making. We make it worse by lamenting it and giving up. We can transcend it not by denying our divisions, but by looking beyond them to build on what still connects us as Americans, perhaps more than ever before. This is what Abraham Lincoln meant when he wrote so eloquently of American possibilities in our deepest moment of division. He spoke in his first inaugural address, in early 1861, of a continuing “chorus of union,” despite the dissonant voices around slavery. He emphasized the “bonds of affection” across the nation, and he sought to inspire the “better angels of our nature.”
At all levels of society, we need leaders who will speak these words again with sincerity and commitment. We need to elect those people. We need to support those people. We need to be those people. We need to start now. And history shows us that we can. We must start by escaping the myth of our own polarization.
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Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a professor in the University's Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Professor Suri is the author and editor of eleven books on politics and foreign policy, most recently: Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy. His other books include: The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office; Liberty’s Surest Guardian: American Nation-Building from the Founders to Obama; Henry Kissinger and the American Century; and Power and Protest: Global Revolution and the Rise of Détente. His writings appear in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN.com, Atlantic, Newsweek, Time, Wired, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and other media. Professor Suri is a popular public lecturer and comments frequently on radio and television news. His writing and teaching have received numerous prizes, including the President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Texas and the Pro Bene Meritis Award for Contributions to the Liberal Arts. Professor Suri hosts a weekly podcast, “This is Democracy.”
Thank you for this post that I think we all need to hear right about now, Jeremi. We need to be reminded that there is more that unites us than divides us. The forces in favor of authoritarianism want us divided, despondent, discouraged, and not voting. That’s the only way they win. It is more important than ever that we as Americans use our most sacred and vital power - the power of our votes.