>Damon argues (and I think he’s exactly right) that the prevalence of online relationships rooted in affinity or faction help explain our toxic politics. Maybe

>Damon argues (and I think he’s exactly right) that the prevalence of online relationships rooted in affinity or faction help explain our toxic politics. Maybe online phyles *result* from political factions pushing them out of real communities, instead. >Yes, politics matters, but if our prime answer to the loss of healthy friendship is political rather than personal, then the crisis will only deepen. A reader who believes "everything is political" will see their own toxic practices vindicated by this, even though it suggests yielding politics to friendship. But it only suggests such as a last resort, when "you can’t fact-check, plead, or argue a person out of a conspiracy", rather than a principle of love. This tack does not inspire strength.