{"id":2365,"date":"2024-01-31T19:31:40","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T19:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=2365"},"modified":"2025-03-11T13:48:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T13:48:48","slug":"can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve explained that the movement to reduce toxic polarization <\/span>doesn\u2019t require you to be a moderate or a centrist<\/span><\/a>. People with any political beliefs, even those with beliefs some might see as extreme, can join the movement to overcome our toxic divisions. That\u2019s because toxic polarization is largely <\/span>a problem of excessive contempt and distrust<\/span><\/a>; it\u2019s not a problem of passionate beliefs. <\/span>Wanting to reduce toxic polarization means believing in engaging in nontoxic, non-contemptuous ways with one\u2019s political opponents.<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In his essay \u201c<\/span>Radical Moderation<\/span><\/a>,\u201d Aurelian Craiutu, Movement Partner, professor of political science, and the author of the book <\/span>Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals<\/span><\/i><\/a>, writes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWherever we turn our eyes, we encounter people who are intransigent and overconfident in the truth of their beliefs. They are full of zeal for their own tribe and hatred toward others. They prefer incrimination and denunciation to civil debate and are opposed to compromise and negotiation with those whose views they dislike. Not surprisingly, some of us have begun to ask ourselves whether a nation that is so divided and polarized as ours can survive in the long run.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Many people think of moderation as something boring, something lukewarm and indecisive. It can seem, as Craiutu puts it, like \u201ca fuzzy center between extremes.\u201d And extremes are exciting. <\/span>We can be drawn to extreme beliefs<\/span><\/a> \u2014 and we may also be angry with people who don\u2019t see the \u201c<\/span>obvious truth<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Not surprisingly, the concept of moderation can sound unappealing to those with a lot of political passion \u2014 and to politicians and pundits who think moderate approaches might make them seem weak.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Craiutu writes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTrue moderation does not spring from exhaustion, fear, or indifference. If moderates claim the right to hesitate and weigh the pros and cons in each case, they never lack a compass when making their choices, nor are they wishy-washy in their commitments. They do have a moral and political compass given by their firm commitment to the principles of open society, among them, freedom, civil equality, toleration, pluralism, limited powers, and the rule of law.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Craiutu makes the case that moderation is \u201ca complex virtue with a rich tradition and unexplored radical sides.\u201d And that moderation is largely about engaging respectfully with our fellow citizens \u2014 even if we may strongly disagree with them. <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Admittedly, this isn\u2019t easy! It requires bravery and a dedicated commitment to democratic principles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We hope this helps you see some of the complexity and thought behind the \u201cmoderate\u201d label that some people embrace, instead of seeing it as evidence of weakness or lack of moral commitment. <\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more, read <\/span>a review of Craiutu\u2019s book <\/span>Why Not Moderation?<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to keep informed about the depolarization movement? Sign up for our newsletter.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve explained that the movement to reduce toxic polarization doesn\u2019t require you to be a moderate or a centrist. People with any political beliefs, even those with beliefs some might see as extreme, can join the movement to overcome our toxic divisions. That\u2019s because toxic polarization is largely a problem of excessive contempt and distrust;…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":2366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"collection_feed":[],"type_feed":[74],"class_list":["post-2365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCan Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization? - Builders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization? - Builders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We\u2019ve explained that the movement to reduce toxic polarization doesn\u2019t require you to be a moderate or a centrist. People with any political beliefs, even those with beliefs some might see as extreme, can join the movement to overcome our toxic divisions. That\u2019s because toxic polarization is largely a problem of excessive contempt and distrust;…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Builders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-31T19:31:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-11T13:48:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zach Elwood\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fa86211edc631829f62424ccba457d0a\"},\"headline\":\"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-31T19:31:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-11T13:48:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/\"},\"wordCount\":471,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/\",\"name\":\"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization? - Builders\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-31T19:31:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-11T13:48:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fa86211edc631829f62424ccba457d0a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"Orange book titled \\\"Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals\\\" by Aurelian Craiutu on a teal background with a yellow swoosh.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/\",\"name\":\"Builders\",\"description\":\"Rise Above Us vs Them. Be a Builder\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization? - Builders","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization? - Builders","og_description":"We\u2019ve explained that the movement to reduce toxic polarization doesn\u2019t require you to be a moderate or a centrist. People with any political beliefs, even those with beliefs some might see as extreme, can join the movement to overcome our toxic divisions. That\u2019s because toxic polarization is largely a problem of excessive contempt and distrust;…","og_url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/","og_site_name":"Builders","article_published_time":"2024-01-31T19:31:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-11T13:48:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/"},"author":{"name":"Zach Elwood","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fa86211edc631829f62424ccba457d0a"},"headline":"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization?","datePublished":"2024-01-31T19:31:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-11T13:48:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/"},"wordCount":471,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/","name":"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization? - Builders","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-31T19:31:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-11T13:48:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fa86211edc631829f62424ccba457d0a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Moderation-Book_Feed.jpg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Orange book titled \"Why Not Moderation? Letters to Young Radicals\" by Aurelian Craiutu on a teal background with a yellow swoosh."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/01\/31\/can-embracing-political-moderation-help-reduce-toxic-polarization\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can Embracing Political Moderation Help Us Reduce Toxic Polarization?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/","name":"Builders","description":"Rise Above Us vs Them. Be a Builder","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365"},{"taxonomy":"collection_feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection_feed?post=2365"},{"taxonomy":"type_feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_feed?post=2365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}