Thinking Critically about American Polarization
Americans tend to have a peculiarity that defies logical explanation. For a nation known as a union whose citizens affectionately tout the motto “United We Stand,” America is divided on almost every issue and in almost every setting. From the great halls of Congress to the classic halls of a certain small liberal arts school in the cornfields of Indiana, the adversarial nature that is an American trademark touches all of our personal and group interactions.
Embedded deep in the American conscience there is an intense love of competition: be it football or Monopoly. However, competition is never isolated to sports and board games. Politics, religion, and academics all entail intense competition, but what is peculiar about this competition is that there are always precisely two sides. The polarization of our society takes away the need for us to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely.
Let’s start with the most obvious of America’s dualisms: politics. How is it that every issue of national importance has two sides: Democratic and Republican? And what happy coincidence it is that there is little debate about how each party should feel about the issue at hand. Is there one Democrat that opposes universal healthcare or Republican that supports it?
The machine that is American politics is comprised of nothing more than robots adhering to their party’s position of the hour, and often that position does not even match the philosophy of the party. As an example, rewind to 2003 and consider the issue of preemptive warfare. Now, try and explain why it was overwhelmingly Republicans who supported this tremendously liberal idea when they themselves, if they must be partisan, are conservatives. The boundaries that define Republican are arbitrarily defined in such a way that members of this group need no mind or opinion of their own. Politicians are excused from the burden of thinking critically, acting responsible, leading effectively, and living humanely.
Unfortunately, polarization is not confined to the political arena – it spans farther. Consider Christian religion in America, which carries a subtler, yet equally disturbing form of polarization. Since the Reformation, there has been a divide between Catholic and Protestant churches that is understandable to a certain extent, as these two churches are separate by definition. However, the problem lies not in the schism between the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches, but in the schism between Catholics and Protestants themselves.
The intense repelling of these two groups of Christians is not nearly as prevalent today than it was even in our parents’ childhood, but Protestants still find themselves sniffing at papists, who in turn scoff back. Christianity should be better than that. Statements from Protestants such as “Christians and Catholics should work together,” don’t help the situation either. Catholics are Christians. We don’t need to create divisions where there aren’t any. On the other end, the “Protestant bashing” that goes on within the Catholic Church is unbelievable. Is not one of the foundations of any form of Christianity the belief that humans should not judge one another? Christianity does itself detriment when its membership refuses to be one body in Christ.
Polarization penetrates to the very roots of our society: cities, towns and schools – even to places such as Wabash College. The most noteworthy dichotomous division here on campus is the ever-present Independent versus Greek division. To be clear, house pride or pride in the Greek system itself is a wonderful thing, but there is a huge problem with the way Independents and fraternities view and treat each other. The popular theory of Independent inferiority is unfounded and detrimental to school unity. Whatever notions there may be about a lack of pride in Wabash or an abundant antisocialism in the ranks of the GDI’s, they are unfounded. There are antisocial Independents and those who shrug off Wabash tradition, but you can find those people anywhere in the College. The extent to which my fellow freshman Independents and I participate in Wabash activities is equal or greater than my fraternity friends. Anti-Independent sentiment is silly, and Wabash gentlemen should be more mature than that.
But to ignore the Independents’ role in this situation would be exacerbating the problem. Many Independents would like to categorically deny the merits of the fraternities here at Wabash. The fact is that Wabash is a unique place, and the Greek system here is one of our signatures. While fraternity life is not for everyone, the Greek system shapes the college life of all us Little Giants, and without it we would not be the campus we are. So please quit this Independent versus Fraternity rubbish. If we here at Wabash cannot overcome our polarization, how can we expect the rest of the nation to do so?
The grouping of ourselves into polar divisions is a convenient way to shrug the duties that the Wabash mission statement demands of us. We must think critically and determine our own beliefs, act responsibly so as not to find ourselves trapped on the slippery slope of group conformity, lead effectively to garner progress and not stagnation in the web of polarization, and live humanely by treating each other with the respect we all deserve.
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