{"id":2407,"date":"2024-03-13T10:47:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T10:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=2407"},"modified":"2024-10-25T23:20:41","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T23:20:41","slug":"political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people think the work of reducing toxic polarization is at odds with political activism. The thinking goes, \u201cWe <\/span>need <\/span><\/i>to be polarized because our political opponents are so bad.\u201d Or: \u201cWe need our animosity to defeat the bad guys.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But these objections miss some key points about the dangers of and remedies for toxic division. One can work toward any political goal while trying to reduce toxic polarization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, taking less polarizing approaches can aid one\u2019s political activism.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When you say \u201cpolarized\u201d…?<\/h3>\n

First, when we talk about the problem of polarization, we\u2019re not talking about just disagreeing \u2014 or even disagreeing strongly. Every country has serious issues that its citizens debate. This is normal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s<\/span> abnormal<\/span><\/i> and destructive is when many citizens have <\/span>contempt and fear of their fellow citizens<\/span><\/a>. This is what leads to dysfunction and chaos in a country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do we need our righteous fury?<\/h3>\n

When we\u2019re in conflict, we often feel we <\/span>need <\/span><\/i>our dislike and rage toward the \u201cother side.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And there\u2019s a reason we can have these instincts. Hate, contempt, and righteous judgment are powerful forces. They can effectively fire people up and get them to take action. That is, after all, why so many political leaders and activists attempt to harness these emotions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anger and judgment aren\u2019t always bad things. We all perceive harm being done by our political opponents on various political and cultural issues \u2014 and this understandably makes us angry. Anger is not the problem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is contempt. The <\/span>Oxford English Dictionary<\/span><\/i> defines contempt as \u201ca feeling of dislike or hostility towards a person or thing one regards as inferior, worthless, or despicable.\u201d It\u2019s thinking that not only are someone\u2019s <\/span>ideas <\/span><\/i>bad but that <\/span>they are a bad person<\/span><\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our highly negative views of our adversaries amplify the conflict. <\/span>When we engage in contemptuous ways with our opponents, they\u2019re more likely to engage in contemptuous ways with us. <\/span><\/i>We become <\/span>less willing to compromise<\/span><\/a> \u2014 and compromise is the lifeblood of a plural democracy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In these ways, we can unknowingly contribute to the cycle of toxic conflict. We can unknowingly help create the angry pushback and extreme behaviors that upset us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Working hard to see ourselves as our adversaries see us helps us get a firm grasp of their fears, worries, and concerns. We can then more easily speak in ways that address their fears while also working toward our vision for a just and fair society. We can use compassion and perspective-taking to channel our political passion <\/span>while at the same time <\/span><\/i>promote the importance of <\/span>disagreeing in better, less toxic ways<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Powerful tools for political activism<\/h3>\n

Avoiding behaviors that deepen animosity and resentment helps you persuade others and form broader coalitions. You\u2019ll be more likely to achieve your goals \u2014 or, if not, to reach compromises you can live with.<\/span><\/p>\n

Political activists and leaders must ask themselves, \u201cHow can I inspire passion and concern about the issues I care about while avoiding painting all of my political opponents as worthy of contempt? How can I persuade more people and avoid driving people away?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

People who want a just and fair society must also consider the dangers that come with demeaning and dehumanizing one\u2019s political adversaries. Dehumanization leads to humiliation, which has been called the <\/span>\u201cnuclear bomb of the emotions<\/span><\/a>,\u201d due to how it makes reactions like rage, extremism, and violence more likely. For this reason, we must see reducing contempt for each other as necessary for sustaining a healthy democracy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite some people\u2019s perceptions, conflict-resolution concepts are not weak, \u201clet\u2019s all get along\u201d ideas, but powerful tools for change. With more depolarizing, de-escalating approaches, changes you achieve are less likely to be <\/span>temporary<\/span><\/i> and prone to reversal (for example, policies overturned by your political opponents when they gain power). Change will tend to be more lasting because you\u2019ve done the work of calling people in and getting their buy-in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are ways to inspire passion and action that don\u2019t involve polarizing, dehumanizing framings. To find them, one must first have the desire to seek those messages.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking at this point, \u201cBut my political opponents <\/span>are <\/span><\/i>mostly bad people,\u201d you might appreciate <\/span>this piece about our distorted, overly pessimistic views of each other<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to stay in the loop about the movement to overcome our toxic divides? <\/span><\/i>Sign up for our newsletter<\/span><\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many people think the work of reducing toxic polarization is at odds with political activism. The thinking goes, \u201cWe need to be polarized because our political opponents are so bad.\u201d Or: \u201cWe need our animosity to defeat the bad guys.\u201d But these objections miss some key points about the dangers of and remedies for toxic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":2409,"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":[77],"class_list":["post-2407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity? - 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\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity? - Builders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many people think the work of reducing toxic polarization is at odds with political activism. The thinking goes, \u201cWe need to be polarized because our political opponents are so bad.\u201d Or: \u201cWe need our animosity to defeat the bad guys.\u201d But these objections miss some key points about the dangers of and remedies for toxic…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Builders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-13T10:47:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-25T23:20:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"747\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/gif\" \/>\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\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zach Elwood\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fa86211edc631829f62424ccba457d0a\"},\"headline\":\"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-13T10:47:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-25T23:20:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/\"},\"wordCount\":748,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/\",\"name\":\"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity? - Builders\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-13T10:47:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-25T23:20:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fa86211edc631829f62424ccba457d0a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":747,\"caption\":\"Two boxing gloves facing each other: one purple labeled \\\"Reducing polarization,\\\" and one red labeled \\\"Political activism,\\\" in a spotlighted ring.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity?\"}]},{\"@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":"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity? - 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\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity? - Builders","og_description":"Many people think the work of reducing toxic polarization is at odds with political activism. The thinking goes, \u201cWe need to be polarized because our political opponents are so bad.\u201d Or: \u201cWe need our animosity to defeat the bad guys.\u201d But these objections miss some key points about the dangers of and remedies for toxic…","og_url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/","og_site_name":"Builders","article_published_time":"2024-03-13T10:47:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-25T23:20:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":747,"url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif","type":"image\/gif"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/"},"author":{"name":"Zach Elwood","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fa86211edc631829f62424ccba457d0a"},"headline":"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity?","datePublished":"2024-03-13T10:47:51+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-25T23:20:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/"},"wordCount":748,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/","name":"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity? - Builders","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif","datePublished":"2024-03-13T10:47:51+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-25T23:20:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fa86211edc631829f62424ccba457d0a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/HeroImage_Linkedin-3.gif","width":1200,"height":747,"caption":"Two boxing gloves facing each other: one purple labeled \"Reducing polarization,\" and one red labeled \"Political activism,\" in a spotlighted ring."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2024\/03\/13\/political-passion-at-odds-with-depolarization\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Political Passion at Odds with Reducing Political Toxicity?"}]},{"@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\/2407","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=2407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2407"},{"taxonomy":"collection_feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection_feed?post=2407"},{"taxonomy":"type_feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_feed?post=2407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}