If we feel uncomfortable talking about something publicly, whether with family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors, we should understand that this is by design.
Divide and conquer. It’s a time tested strategy for keeping populations under control.
It starts with the “news.” Mass media is not a place to get balanced perspective on the events of the day. Media is a polarizing tool used by the oppressive beneficiaries of rapacious capitalism to keep the rest of us at our throats. Everything is framed in binary: right vs. left, conservative vs. liberal, church vs. state, black vs. white, us vs. them. The approach is meant to charge up emotions while holding back information that might allow for some critical thinking.
In a wonderfully lucid article here, UK coach and writer Dr. Paul Gamble touches on the social dynamics that support and perpetuate binary thinking:
We want things to be straightforward. We crave certainty, particularly when forced to navigate complex issues. We yearn for easy answers, however facile. We flock towards those who profess to know, and are impressed by those who make claims with absolute certainty. We derive comfort in those who project this illusion of certainty, and feel a sense of safety in numbers when surrounded by those who share this illusion with us.
What is suggested here is an inverse correlation between our lack of certainty and our susceptibility to polarization. The more confused and disconnected we feel, the more compelled we are to align with a camp that acknowledges and soothes our anxiety. Social media ushers us into virtual camps through real-time tracking of our online engagement, interpreting our views and clicks to deliver us content that validates our fears and delivers us into a cocoon of reaffirming soundbites and images.
We fall silent in the public square, never daring to raise the topics of race or religion or politics or the possible connections between corporate power and public health. Small talk about the weather will soon die out for fear the conversation might evolve into a climate-change debate.
I’ve recently discovered Muslim YouTube pundits who are shamefully invested in perpetuating these binaries, a whole genre of online commentators who, for a handful of clicks and likes, call out the supposed hypocrisies of Muslim community leaders. Us versus them. Our community is properly infected.
There will always be differences of opinion. I do not not harbor utopian fantasies of universal consensus. Friction is necessary for the healthy development of culture and character. But if we are to disagree, let it be on the subject at hand, and then only after a through consideration of alternate viewpoints.
I have written about “scaling” before, the idea that what works at the individual level will work at the communal and institutional level (and vice-versa). Binary thinking at the personal level is very destructive. If I do wrong, there is no opportunity for redemption in a perspective that links me inextricably with the wrong action. In order to grow and do better, I must leave room in my self-concept for the possibility that I am better than my worst action. I need to bring some nuance and internal diplomacy into the situation or I am destroyed.
This is also the case in our marriages, our parenting, and in our friendships. Mistakes will be made, but in order for any of these relationships to last for more than a few hours, we must cultivate tolerance, respect, compassion, and a receptivity to uncomfortable information. Receiving uncomfortable information does not imply agreeing with or accepting that information. Rather, we are building our capacity to live with friction.
We must also ground ourselves in what we believe to be ultimately non-negotiable. This should be a very short but essential list as these ideals give us the security we need to avoid being drafted into an emotional relationship with a manufactured virtual tribe. Dr. Gamble describes the potential consequences:
The particular group we identify with profoundly shapes how we behave towards others and entertain sources of new information. What is striking is that this is often entirely independent of any consideration of the information presented on the specific issue.
Essentially, it is less about considering the merits of the respective positions on an issue, and far more about staunchly defending the stated position of our imagined community of choice. The sense of allegiance and group identity is a big part of what drives our opposition to contrary views, particularly when voiced by those we associate as being ‘the opposition’.
The solution is in building actual, physical communities as a revolutionary act against the virtual echo chambers.
This is why Dust and Tribe insists on getting people outside and into conversation. We don’t care what you talk about or how you feel about the subjects being discussed. The important thing is that we’re talking.
It is why we avoid didactics: nobody is here to teach you anything. God teaches through His creation. We have taken the initiative to bring you into a relationship with His creation, but that’s as far as it goes. This blog is a place where ideas and opinions are posted for discussion, but there are no assertions that what we believe is without error or criticism. In fact, we post largely to test our thinking and to invite our community to challenge and elevate our perspectives.
Feel free to do that in the comments below. Or better yet, check our Events page and let’s get outside and into some real conversation, God willing.
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