Penny Thoughts: America’s Political Polarity Paradox

We are inundated with the polemics of political pundits, Republican or Democratic “strategists”, columnists with axes to grind, and the plethora of usual “experts” who have convinced us that America is in the eviscerating throes of a distinct political “polarity.” That is to say that America is “polarized” with respect to its political views and opinions to the extent that there is no hope of our citizens ever treating each other with even a semblance of civility.

We all have witnessed this phenomenon when we experience the invective spewed forth by Mainstream television’s talking heads. On the one side, everything is working just fine; while on the other side, we constantly face the inevitable apocalypse which the “other” party presents in its policies. And they seem to be so filled with venom for the opposition that it is difficult to believe either of them.

There was a time in America, not too long ago, that civilized persons did not engage in discussions of two themes in social gatherings or in common meeting places – religion and politics. We lived with an unwritten code which if violated would unleash a volcanic rush of anger prompted by taking firm positions in either of these important areas of human engagement.

It was a part of American civility to let people hold their positions and not present contentious venues which would threaten those positions. Thus, we just did not talk about those things. As my Maymaw often reminded me, “Polite folks just don’t talk about those kinds of things, son.”

All this has drawn me to what I believe to be a rather obvious conclusion: The strongly held political positions prominent in American politics today are not a new phenomenon.  We have always believed in our parties and their positions; we just felt that violent discussions about them would lead to uncivil behaviors which were beneath the fabric of American decorum.

It is this lack of civility which benchmarks contemporary political analysis. In short, violent politics is nothing new in America, but the uncivil animus which hangs about it like a rotting albatross is a unique phenomenon in today’s political discussion.

From my perspective, this is the result of the convergence of expanded education and the explosion of information accessibility. Our good education system coupled with the advancement of a technological accessibility to information allows us to be able to articulate our political views with much more fluency, confidence, and acuity.

And this is all new to us because the numbers of citizens who are more aware of political processes and events has increased exponentially. In other words, more of us know more about what is going on – and we can express our views with a confidence which was never before present. While this may present some difficulty for the “old guard” politicos who banked on a given ignorance on the part of the electorate, it opens a Pandora’s Box of informed constituents who can now demand more of their political parties than ever before.

The problem of civility sorely remains rudimentary for me since I was raised in an atmosphere where even strong disagreements were always couched in terms which politely veiled any intimations of rancor.

This problem is reminiscent of watching children gain awareness of the world around them and their attempts to influence and impact it.  At first blush, children are fascinated with the nuances of new experiences. But as they grow into a familiarity with the mechanics of the new experience, they become impatient with the process since it does not coincide with their perception of what it should be.  This impatience grows into anger; hence, incivility emerges.

It is my considered opinion that this is where we are with the development of our political awareness. We have enjoyed the fruits of an excellent system of education.  Likewise, we enjoy the fruits of a technological juggernaut which has put information immediately in front of us. The net result is a new awareness of politics not only as a spectator sport, but politics as a process for managing society and its immediate and extended concerns.

While we are better equipped to understand the facts of a given event, we still grapple with rationalizing the consequences of that event. And this is the root of the lack of civility – the “polarity”. Mere awareness of knowledge and ability to articulate it does not immediately produce wisdom, or perhaps even sophisticated knowledge.

It may be popular to refer to this frustration as “polarity” when in reality it is a function of the uncivil attitudes resulting from not knowing how to process the information we have, with the ideal we hold.

And, as usual, the pundits would rather throw kerosene on the fire than water.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of The West Alabama Watchman.