In an earlier post, I discussed humans' innate proclivity to engage in coalitional thinking, or more colloquially the "us-versus-them" mentality. This inescapable mindset plays out nightly on the American public airwaves. Over the past few years, there has been a proliferation of fundamentalist political punditry on television, radio, and the publishing media on both sides of the political divide. Some of the key players include Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Tucker Carlson, Ann Coulter, Keith Olbermann, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Rachel Maddow, and Chris Matthews. The first five names are members of the conservative voice whereas the subsequent five are members of the progressive/liberal viewpoint. Of course, these ideological battles also take place on the radio as per Rush Limbaugh versus Air America.
My point in today's post is not to take an ideological position but rather to argue for the banality of the entrenched positions of both camps. It is remarkable to see the inability of either side to recognize any valid points in the other camp's position. As far as Keith Olbermann is concerned, Dick Cheney is Darth Vader whereas Glenn Beck believes that Barack Obama is the reincarnation of Lenin. Nuanced positions are simply impossible when seeking to demonize the other camp.
In my opinion, the "us-versus-them" cognitive trap is exacerbated by the two-party system in American politics. You are literally part of the blue (Democrats) or red (Republicans) team. The street gang mentality of the Crips (blue) versus Bloods (red) is played out daily on Capitol Hill. The promise of bipartisanship that Obama has promised the American populace is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. One simply needs to look at Senate voting patterns to quickly recognize that bipartisanship is as fleeting as a unicorn. If Obama were to put forth a bill tomorrow that, if passed, would magically eradicate all illnesses, the Republicans would overwhelmingly vote against it. I can already hear the rhetoric: "The eradication of diseases will lead to massive layoffs in the medical sector. Mr. Obama is anti-American." On the other hand, if Obama were to put forth a bill calling for an expansion of affirmative action programs, such that the racial and demographic breakdowns as established in the Census should be replicated in all professionals walks of life, then the Democrats would hail such a policy as a utopian breakthrough in progressive and liberal thinking. Ideas are not evaluated on their merits. Rather, they are supported or rejected as a function of the camps that propose them. I suspect that multi-party systems as is the case in numerous European countries, Canada, and Israel, yield lesser instances of such blind partisan support.
Religious fervor is in part driven by the "us-versus-them" mentality. The world consists of Jews and gentiles; Muslims and kafirs; Christians and the unsaved. Some of my Italian friends like to proclaim that the world is made up of Italians and Italian-wannabes. The dichotomies are endless. Political affiliations in the United States are akin to irrational and fundamentalist religious fervor. The bottom line is that as long as politicians and the populace alike succumb to the innate cognitive trap of the "us-versus-them" mentality, the political discourse will remain banal and divisive.
So I will end today's post with suggestions for two public representatives of the Right and Left namely Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann respectively. Mr. Beck: Democrats are not conspiring to destroy the United States. Democrats love their country just as much as you do. Mr. Olbermann: It is time to retire your insufferable counting of the number of days since George Bush proclaimed Mission Accomplished in Iraq. We get it: Bush overstated his position. Move on. Rise above your visceral and vitriolic hatred of Bush and Cheney. They are not as innately evil as you make them out to be. I am holding you to a higher standard as we do share an alma mater!
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http://nymag.com/daily/intel/06_beckolber_lg.jpg
