Don't blame ideology for America's divisions
Ideology may not be the root cause of the political and social turmoil in America, Michael Medved writes.
It’s not ideas that currently divide the nation; it’s emotions, attitudes, paranoia and tribal loyalties. Rather than focused arguments over clashing values, Americans express a generalized sense of resentment aggrievement and grudge. That makes the chances of compromise increasingly remote and the prospects for resolution all but unthinkable.
Take the ongoing battles over management of the coronavirus: both sides insist they are defending some honorable principle but their ferocious disagreements reflect underlying hostilities and irrational instincts.
Anti-vaxxers march solemnly and self-righteously with placards proclaiming “My Body, My Choice” – expressing precisely the sort of logic they would forcefully reject regarding the abortion issue or recent proposals for sweeping legalization of recreational drugs.