The 21st Century Pitfalls That Cause Political Tribalism
The political arena has always been tribal, by design and by nature, but the past five years have been abnormally divisive. The political agenda is congested with a bottomless Brexit, round the clock culture wars and in the US, the hysteria on facts and attacks on democracy continue. Even the coronavirus, despite unifying us in fear, has been politicised by fringes of the public and not surprisingly, by governments too.
All these issues have increased the anxieties of political tribes, leaving them to seek comfort in those who they agree with and are unlikely to be challenged by. Nowadays, it’s rare to see someone who doesn’t have a strong disdain for the opposite side of many debates, such as Remain vs Leave or masks vs no masks.
Some people often have the opinion that the mainstream media has become a mouthpiece for “the establishment”, rather than fairly representing the views of the audience, and in some cases, they are guilty of this. Disillusioned viewers will abandon their likely moderate position and find sympathy in fringe groups and populist characters, which explains why many right wingers have found a home in platforms like Qanon and Fox News.
It’s not unusual to surround ourselves with people and media we identify and agree with, but it does dangerously further convince us of our own arguments when we aren’t scrutinized or presented with new information, leading our views to become more extreme.
It’s also true that the more information you’re exposed to, the more likely you’ll feel you’re on the right side of an issue, and have the authority to claim you are. From this develops a moral superiority, and an attitude that there’s no need to listen to what others have to say, because you know their reasoning but you believe yours is fundamentally superior.
Tribalism in the 21st century poses more threats, but also more opportunity. Social media algorithms which design echo chambers for each user, therefore cannot go unmentioned. The most dangerous illustration of this is, if two people googled “2020 election fraud”, depending on previous searches, would receive results that are mostly aligned with their political stance. This is of course part of the reason why more Republicans believe the election was stolen, which is categorically untrue.
The weaponizing of soundbites has also contributed to the war on truth, partly due to our declining attention span, and partly because it’s convenient for both the media and the individuals who have their own agenda. The soundbite formula comes opaquely packaged in various formats (tweet, clip, post), to persuade anyone who is not aware of the full context, which is often not even provided or shown truthfully. Twitter and Facebook only amplify this, and when executed well, brings out the unfiltered reaction from even the most politically attentive minded people.
For all the difficulties the media and individuals find themselves tangled in, there are values that connect people and their tribes together, that may otherwise have nothing in common. Patriotism is one example of this, it unites some immigrants and hardcore conservatives who have a mutual love for there country.
It’s also the benefit of intersectionality and multiculturalism. Social tension is inevitable in a society as colourful as America, but diversity doesn’t mean division, though it is often shown to be its greatest weakness and greatest strength, but never without its shared identity that ties all tribes together.
This is primarily why the “all Trump voters are racist” argument is so juvenile and flawed. You can simultaneously believe that America is and has been remarkably racist and remarkably diverse in the oddest fashion. The 2016 election especially proved that Trump voters were not monolithic, but rather enchanted by his unpolishedness that appealed to a spectrum of people from various races, classes, and religions. Whether it’s done in good faith or not doesn’t devalue their vote, it is democracy in action.
Regardless of what platform tribes battle on, we need more consensus and realism in every government and media organisation, which can be achieved not by banishing either side, but agreeing that we each individually have political and personal interests that we would like to see materialised. Achieving this within a warped environment has already proven to be a new challenge, but participating in the division will only maintain the gridlock.
Ultimately, the pitfalls of talking to ourselves rather than each other, is the extinction of any tribe, political or not, and democracy cannot afford either side to be exiled.
