Can’t Democrats and Republicans just get along?
That question is asked by plenty of exasperated Americans who haven’t made politics their de facto religion.
In another blog post, this blogger states, “When Americans take in what the media have to say about politics, the former get doses of Crazy-vs-Crazy. It is enough to make a sane American want to have what Kermit the Frog is having.”
Something about politics is toxic to the Human psyche, and the toxicity has a detrimental effect on civility.
Julia Manchester of The Hill reports the following :
Republican pollster Ed Goeas said in an interview that aired Thursday [13 Dec 2018] on What America’s Thinking that the U.S. is in a “death spiral” when it comes to civility in politics.
“I do think that we are very definitely in a death spiral in terms of civility in this country, how we treat each other, how we talk about each other,” Goeas, the president and CEO of the Tarrance Group, told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons on Wednesday.
“The term that surfaced in this last election was tribalism, and it does have a little bit of the component to it, and again, it’s all be aggravated by the selective watching of cable news and the use of social media,” he continued.
Last month’s midterm election results demonstrated a deeply partisan electorate in the U.S. amid heated political rhetoric coming from both sides of the aisle.
Polling shows that civility in politics is a point of major concern for Americans.
A PBS News Hour/NPR/Marist poll released last month found that 79 percent of Americans said they were concerned about the negative tone in U.S. politics and think it could lead to violence.
Adding to the toxicity of politics is the effort by some people to turn the USA into a theocracy of their liking. They are quick to rant if their religious beliefs aren’t civil law.
In contrast, some politicians try to punish people for practicing faith that the politicians disagree with. For example, read “Anti-Catholic Senators” by Steve Cortes.
The toxicity is worsened by people promoting the falsehoods of culture religion.
Granted, some people don’t want to get away from toxicity.
Keep in mind that toxic is the root intoxication, and plenty of people enjoy being intoxicated.
As Dean Wormer says in the movie Animal House,
Apparently, Dean Wormer wasn’t into politics. If he were, then he would be having what Kermit is having.
The “Wanted” posters say the following about David: “Wanted: A refugee from planet Melmac masquerading as a human. Loves cats. If seen, contact the Alien Task Force.”