Given today's political climate, it may seem as if the language of politics has been polarized forever, but the phenomenon is relatively new. Until the 1990s, conservatives and liberals spoke remarkably similarly,
a study by a trio of researchers from Stanford, Brown, and Microsoft found in 2016.
In the study, participants were shown speeches by members of Congress from 1873 to 2016 and asked to guess whether the speech was given by a Republican or a Democrat. When the speech was given in years before the 1990s, participants correctly guessed the party only slightly more than half the time. But that figure spiked dramatically in 1994, and by 2010 participants' guesses were correct 73% of the time.
The year 1994, the study's inflection point, was a major moment in politics. After a rocky start to Bill Clinton's presidency, Republicans were looking to capitalize in the midterm elections. Newt Gingrich, then the House minority whip, began the 1994 campaign by releasing the "Contract With America," a list of 10 bills congressional Republicans pledged to pass if they regained the House majority.
The document was loaded with buzzwords influenced by President Ronald Reagan's 1985 State of the Union address. It talked about "tax relief," "job creation," and "personal responsibility." It proposed "taking back our streets" by toughening the death penalty and building more prisons, and it suggested imposing term limits on "career politicians" so they could be replaced with "citizen legislators."
It has worked well for them. They have been able to win elections using this language, even as their core policies have the support of a shrinking minority of the public. There are many side effects of this, including political ramifications that have been well-discussed elsewhere by people better informed than I. A side effect I want to focus on here is how this change in our political language has helped harden our thoughts towards others and be skeptical of their integrity, honesty, and intentions.
Some, (the cynics), will say that this is Pollyanna type thinking. To them I would respond that projecting negative expectations is no more realistic than projecting positive expectations. And both get in the way of experiencing what is before us. Meanwhile, one course of action cuts off hope. love, and possibility while the other nurtures these things. This impacts our quality of life.
To the argument that this is not a very “serious adult” or realistic way of seeing the world, I would counter that most people have much more good in their hearts and intentions than bad — even those accursed Republicans. I know and love many of them. They are decent and caring people who hold very different views regarding some important issues from those which I hold. This is not to say that there aren’t some monsters on the right. And at this point in history I would go so far as to say there are far more monsters on the right than on the left, but they are still a small minority.
Even among those who still support the Guy Formerly known as POTUS there are many truly decent people to be found. They have been terribly misled and manipulated for years, but they are not beyond redemption. Their tolerance for racism might be open to question in this regard, but even that is not something that is forever stamped in a person’s being. I say this as someone who grew up in the Baltimore that was depicted in John Waters’ Hairspray, and while the story itself was “Waters’ ridiculous,” the background racism at the core of the story was very real. The Corny Collins Show was actually called The Buddy Deane Show. Gwynn Oaks Park really did exclude Blacks. The racism was pervasive and casual, just part of the environment. Growing and learning to leave these attitudes behind has been an ongoing challenge, and yet I know that it is possible for anyone who is exposed to the right energy and information.
If we are to heal as a nation and be able to survive as a representative democratic republic, if we are to be able to move forward without major political and social upheaval, then it requires that we all step back from the trained and ingrained tribalism that has been increasingly imposed on us over the past few decades and enforced by increasingly polarized media. It means reconsidering the AUTOMATIC distrust that is present on both sides, looking to open paths of communication and identify areas of agreement. The other option is to allow things to continue deteriorating into partisan, tribal squabbles until we senselessly slaughter one another.
We do not reach this place of healing by holding a cynical attitude towards life. While cynicism may protect us from disappointment at times and give us the cold comfort of certainty, the source of that certainty is the cutting off of possibility for positive progress. And the cost of that cynicism is the loss of hope and the drift towards despair. After all, if most people are such jerks and they are destined to stay that way then why bother trying to make the world a better place? By the cynic’s logic, “It just ain’t gonna happen.”
And allow me to also be more clear about another aspect of this. I’d like to draw a distinction between cynicism and skepticism. I see skepticism as a specific and informed questioning of some person or situation. Skepticism has a positive and objective basis, whereas cynicism has a negative and emotional basis. Hence the appropriateness of the word “sneering” in Randy’s characterization of cynicism. The energy brought to skepticism lives in seeking truth and fact. Here in Woo land that would be classified as light energy. The energy brought to cynicism is more the opposite.
I am a member of multiple communities, both online and in real life — meatspace as the kids call it. My desire and intention is to help to empower myself and my fellow community members in working towards a better and more just future for all. And this includes eventually empowering those who are currently not interested in playing along. I’m not sure how that’s going to look, and I suspect we’re going to need to make it up as we go based on circumstances as they arise. Meanwhile for those who choose to be in the game now, I invite you to move forward with a sense of hope and courage. And when you hear the voice of the cynic rise up within you, recognize it for what it is and choose to empower yourself to continue forward.