Polarisation Is One Of The Biggest Threats We Face
Will we be clever enough to resist the temptation of joining such spiralling madness?
It has taken me a long time to realise it and even more to accept it: polarization is at the heart of our society’s impasse. I was a teenager when I first heard the term; back then, it sounded more like a consequence of the fight against evil than a cause for any state of affairs. When someone suggested polarisation never led to viable solutions, I would scoff and consider such a voice a pathetic product of an increasingly apathetic world.
Why should we not be radical against nefarious practices? Of course, we should. Indeed, unless good matches the tenacity of evil, any resistance will be useless. If reactionary forces fight harder against change, we must double down on our pursuit of justice. However, we cannot fall into the trap of taking a stance and not moving from there. If we do, we will be doomed to an endless war of attrition. When the methods and terminology we use contribute to the chaotic spiralling of polarization, we should stop to think again.
Once we entrench ourselves in a position, no argument will move us from it. It is impossible because the position defines us, and changing our minds is an attack against our sense of self. Losing an argument…