Polarization
PAGE IN PROGRESS
What you see here is a page of my hypertext book Me, Looking for Meaning. Initially empty, it will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. See this post to better understand my creative process. Thank you for your interest and patience! :)
What you see here is a page of my hypertext book Me, Looking for Meaning. Initially empty, it will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. See this post to better understand my creative process. Thank you for your interest and patience! :)
Polarization, from Google dictionary: "division into two sharply contrasting groups or sets of opinions or beliefs."
Ideological vs affective polarization
Entrenched conflict
Nelson Mandela once said, “There is no one more dangerous than one who has been humiliated.” (political opponents making fun of each other, for example in political sketches and comedy shows - that's not helping to disfuse the conflict)
Polarization is a lot about differences and disagreements. I spend a lot of time thinking how to deal with it. In particular, being a mother of two little kids really helps me think about polarization, because, as you can imagine, when little kids are involved differences and disagreements abound. I am constantly learning about polarization when I observe my kids and help them (not always successfully) overcome their disagreements.
For example, we just came out of a library with a few books and DVDs to watch in the car. Sky immediately wants to watch Paw Patrol, but Robin wants Super Why (PBS kids). We get into the car, but I cannot buckle them in, because both of them are upset: whining and pouting. I have two choices: make a decision and force it on them or encourage them to try to come to some kind of compromise. The first one is quicker and easier. But I believe that the second approach has more potential. I tell them: "You want different things, and I do not know what to do. Can you help me?".
For me, always brining my scholarship into my everyday life, it is not just a matter of parenting. I think in this microcosmic situation is parallel to a macrocosm of polarization that can be observed, for example, in the country where I live now - the United States. In this country, there are many people with very different views on many different things. There is a benefit for them to be a part of one country (for the purpose of safety, I mean outside threats). But the downside is that they need to somehow figure out how to deal with many challenges that being a society brings.
There are people with many different opinions, but also with different levels of what we can call "decision power". It's kind of like me and the kids in the car, trying to decide which video to watch. People who are in the position to make decisions are also... well, people. They have biases and they are under pressure to produce results. It's not uncommon for them to make decisions that seem to solve the problem in the short time, but create new problems in the long run (another example of how problem/solution binary is tricky). It's a lot about power, but it's messy power, not an easily understood power as a binary, where we could say: "This problem is their fault" - there is not a simple "their" there.
Cita: «Hay tantísimas fronteras que dividen a la gente, pero por cada frontera existe también un puente». (Gina Valdés)
Source: Gina Valdés. Bridges and Borders, Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe, 1996.
"Nothing taught by force stays in the soul" - Plato.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/01/how-persuade-people-you-dont-agree-with?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
In order to overcome polarization, more people need to put significant effort into understanding the other side. This is not a small effort, and it requires empathy and self-awareness of higher order. I believe that for a person to put such a significant effort, she needs to understand the complexity of social co-existence. This is why I am working on a project that aims to show to a broader audience that power relationships between human beings can be better described as a paradox rather than a binary.
The key to overcoming polarization lies in focusing on things in common without forgetting differences. If we focus on differences, it will be impossible to have any dialogue. Having a dialogues does not mean agreeing on everything.
Feeling Superior Is a Bipartisan Issue: Extremity (Not Direction) of Political Views Predicts Perceived Belief Superiority
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797613494848
When both sides in a conflict fail to use empathy towards each other, polarization may spiral out of control. So using empathy is a matter of one's own self-preservation.
Does polarization always mean two sides? Perhaps that's another simplification connection to our tendency to see binaries everywhere.
The Smug Style in American Liberalism https://www.vox.com/2016/4/21/11451378/smug-american-liberalism
"The smug style, at bottom, is a failure of empathy. Further: It is a failure to believe that empathy has any value at all. It is the notion that anybody worthy of liberal time and attention and respect must capitulate, immediately, to the Good Facts."
When I am trying to go out with my kids and they cannot agree on what to do (e.g., pool vs playground) we end up not doing anything.
It’s probably similar with political polarization. People cannot agree about social issues, so there is little progress fixing problems. Of course, each “side” blames the other one for creating problems.
we think that we are smarter, better than people on “the other side” but we are unaware of all the influences that determined our decisions and choices and their decisions and choices [free will]
About this project: Start page
Ideological vs affective polarization
Entrenched conflict
Nelson Mandela once said, “There is no one more dangerous than one who has been humiliated.” (political opponents making fun of each other, for example in political sketches and comedy shows - that's not helping to disfuse the conflict)
Polarization is a lot about differences and disagreements. I spend a lot of time thinking how to deal with it. In particular, being a mother of two little kids really helps me think about polarization, because, as you can imagine, when little kids are involved differences and disagreements abound. I am constantly learning about polarization when I observe my kids and help them (not always successfully) overcome their disagreements.
For example, we just came out of a library with a few books and DVDs to watch in the car. Sky immediately wants to watch Paw Patrol, but Robin wants Super Why (PBS kids). We get into the car, but I cannot buckle them in, because both of them are upset: whining and pouting. I have two choices: make a decision and force it on them or encourage them to try to come to some kind of compromise. The first one is quicker and easier. But I believe that the second approach has more potential. I tell them: "You want different things, and I do not know what to do. Can you help me?".
For me, always brining my scholarship into my everyday life, it is not just a matter of parenting. I think in this microcosmic situation is parallel to a macrocosm of polarization that can be observed, for example, in the country where I live now - the United States. In this country, there are many people with very different views on many different things. There is a benefit for them to be a part of one country (for the purpose of safety, I mean outside threats). But the downside is that they need to somehow figure out how to deal with many challenges that being a society brings.
There are people with many different opinions, but also with different levels of what we can call "decision power". It's kind of like me and the kids in the car, trying to decide which video to watch. People who are in the position to make decisions are also... well, people. They have biases and they are under pressure to produce results. It's not uncommon for them to make decisions that seem to solve the problem in the short time, but create new problems in the long run (another example of how problem/solution binary is tricky). It's a lot about power, but it's messy power, not an easily understood power as a binary, where we could say: "This problem is their fault" - there is not a simple "their" there.
Cita: «Hay tantísimas fronteras que dividen a la gente, pero por cada frontera existe también un puente». (Gina Valdés)
Source: Gina Valdés. Bridges and Borders, Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe, 1996.
"Nothing taught by force stays in the soul" - Plato.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/01/how-persuade-people-you-dont-agree-with?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
In order to overcome polarization, more people need to put significant effort into understanding the other side. This is not a small effort, and it requires empathy and self-awareness of higher order. I believe that for a person to put such a significant effort, she needs to understand the complexity of social co-existence. This is why I am working on a project that aims to show to a broader audience that power relationships between human beings can be better described as a paradox rather than a binary.
The key to overcoming polarization lies in focusing on things in common without forgetting differences. If we focus on differences, it will be impossible to have any dialogue. Having a dialogues does not mean agreeing on everything.
Feeling Superior Is a Bipartisan Issue: Extremity (Not Direction) of Political Views Predicts Perceived Belief Superiority
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797613494848
When both sides in a conflict fail to use empathy towards each other, polarization may spiral out of control. So using empathy is a matter of one's own self-preservation.
Does polarization always mean two sides? Perhaps that's another simplification connection to our tendency to see binaries everywhere.
The Smug Style in American Liberalism https://www.vox.com/2016/4/21/11451378/smug-american-liberalism
"The smug style, at bottom, is a failure of empathy. Further: It is a failure to believe that empathy has any value at all. It is the notion that anybody worthy of liberal time and attention and respect must capitulate, immediately, to the Good Facts."
When I am trying to go out with my kids and they cannot agree on what to do (e.g., pool vs playground) we end up not doing anything.
It’s probably similar with political polarization. People cannot agree about social issues, so there is little progress fixing problems. Of course, each “side” blames the other one for creating problems.
we think that we are smarter, better than people on “the other side” but we are unaware of all the influences that determined our decisions and choices and their decisions and choices [free will]
About this project: Start page
