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From my reading of history the level of polarization was at least as high or higher during the early republic, and obviously higher leading up to and through th
by coffeemug 9mo ago
From my reading of history the level of polarization was at least as high or higher during the early republic, and obviously higher leading up to and through the civil war. I don't know American history in any meaningful depth outside these two periods, but I suspect there were other periods of extreme polarization. I really don't think this is new.
- bigbadfeline 9mo agoComparing the early republic to today is apples and oranges, disagreements and passions are supposed to go down as things settle down with time. Instead, both parties display an obstinate lack of compromise and wishy-washy, unworkable platforms while the media is only happy to make all of it worse. Increasing polarization is surely a symptom of problems and that needs to be analyzed, explained and addressed, not excused. You make it sound like a civil war is a walk in the park, you do need more history and more imagination in order to understand the human cost of obstinance and shallow thinking.