Why Is Our Nation So Divided Today?

I have a theory about why our nation feels so divided today.  I've been pondering this because it feels as if we are as polarized as I have ever seen in my half century of adulthood.

Here's my theory and a thought about how to make it different.


We ARE polarized

It is no news that we are polarized.  Americans voted last fall for two of the most polarizing presidential candidates in our history.  The candidates and the worldviews they represented could hardly have been more different, and the national popular vote was nearly equally divided.

Families and friends continue to deal with tensions stirred up during the political campaigns, election, inauguration, and first year of a new presidency.  Some relationships ended because of it.  Others remain on life support.

There is always a tension between conservative and liberal political views.  The wise are able to maintain relationships with people with different views.  But many of us surround ourselves with those of like opinions and hold at arms length those with conflicting views.

Social media exacerbate the polarization

Pew Research reported that in 2016 approximately 70% of Americans were FaceBooking, and the majority of Americans now report social media are how they get their news.   Therefore, this information channel and its quality and content of it have a great impact on how we view the world.

But the content is not the same for everyone!  FaceBook automatically creates a kind of echo chamber for each of us.  Every time we "like" a post or visit a sponsor page we are telling FaceBook what we prefer.  And FaceBook knows that we will spend more time if we like what we read.  If I am a liberal, FaceBook will dutifully provide more posts, ads, and other material that fit that perspective on the world.  If I am a conservative, the same happens with conservative material.  My "feed" will be largely comprised of stories and shares from friends and advertisers who agree with me.

This means that on any major issue, FaceBook is constantly juggling our individual feeds to provide the best mix of what we seem to want to see......which has the salutary (for FaceBook) effect of creating more revenue.

I'm not mad at FaceBook.  It's just a company doing what companies do: making money.  They aren't trying to create problems over in Menlo Park, but they are.

Mainstream news media provide misleading information

Neither am I mad at the news media.  They are also just doing what companies do.  They aren't trying to make problems either (well, some like Russia Today, are) in newsrooms all over the world, but they are.  Here's how: crisis, conflict and blood provide the most eyeballs and therefore the best revenue.  "If it bleeds it leads" is still the rule of thumb in newsrooms.

Where there is a march or a civil disturbance, for example, the coverage centers on the tiny minority burning flags, breaking windows, fighting, or generally rioting.  The coverage of the main march where people put feet to their strongly held beliefs is limited.  No arson, no blood: no coverage.

To me, this means that the news media have an inherent context bias.  At worst, the political and cultural biases of individual reporters, producers and owners provide us with a skewed view of what is really happening world.  Some deliberately disinform.


The trust of Americans in the mainstream media touched a new low in 2016, Gallup reports.  Only 1 in 3 Americans reported "a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media."

Foreign actors are stirring up dissension 


We thought the Russian government was trying to influence the election.  Recent reports suggests they WERE trying to do just that, but that was and is only one of their intentions.  They want to create tears in the fabric of the institutions and culture that sustains our republic.  They want to inflame racial tensions, sow distrust of leaders and create chaos.

We have mislaid our ability to honor one another

The final part of my theory is that we as a people have mislaid our ability to honor one another.  Instead of listening to one another with respect, we sharpen our knives.  Honestly stated opinions are often met with unkind words and even ad hominum attacks.  I know that there have always been those who attack others with words, but somehow it seems to have been less common in times past.  We were once a more civil society.  Today, with the shield of Internet anonymity, unkindness or even viciousness is common.

Towards a solution

I believe the answer to these problems is simple: a return to honor.  But simple is often not easy.

Honor is multifaceted, of course, but if we could find our way back to civil discourse, if we could treat others as we would like to be treated, if we could.....well.....love,  much could be changed for the good.

Finally: America has weathered worse (think Civil War era) and today there is more that unites us than divides.  I have every expectation that we shall pass through these dark days into a greater society that gives hope.

So....there's my theory and ideas towards a solution.  I would really like to hear your thoughts on how we can move towards a society that goes forward together, regardless of our differing political and cultural opinions.   Please leave comments below.