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.

On The Christian Duty to Honor the Emperors of Today

Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor President Obama and President-elect Trump.

I exchanged the names of our current and incoming presidents for "emperor" to fit our day, but other than that, these words are scripture (1 Peter 2:17 NIV).

I stand convicted on this. I have too often missed the mark. I'm particularly struck by the last part: "Honor the emperor"......because I have not always honored our "emperor", Mr. Obama.

As Peter was writing this from Rome around 65 A.D. the current emperor would have been Nero, the mad tyrant who tortured Christians, and according to Church tradition, finally crucified the apostle. Clearly, Peter was not saying honor the emperor because he deserved it.

So.....with that in mind, what right do I or any of us have to dishonor President Obama or President-Elect Trump with our words or deeds?

That being so, the question for us is this: how do we Jesus followers honorably disagree with the policies and deeds of the "emperor" of our day, or express concerns about fitness for office, while still obeying the command of scripture?

Peter's apostolic colleague, Paul, also had something to say about this matter: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way."  (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Prayer and intercession for those who lead in our communities, states and national government goes hand in hand with honoring these men and women.

We are clearly in a different situation than the first century Church.  For just one thing, in our system of government, we select the leaders of our land. Expressing our opinions is important.

Nevertheless, I believe the apostle Peter's words apply just as much in these days as they did for those who lived in his day. It seems to me that the issue is a matter of honoring the emperor in our hearts… when we do this our words will reflect that heart posture.

I have deep disagreements with much of Mr Obama's policies and deeds, and I have deeply questioned his fitness for office.  While I have great hope for Mr. Trump, at this point his policies, deeds and fitness can only be guessed at.  I do have great concerns about what I have read about his fitness for office and his past deeds.  Questioning and outright disagreeing with both of these men is my right as an American, and indeed, as a human.

Where I…..and any of us who are Christians go off the rails is when we attack the person, rather than his deeds, his policies, or his preparation for office.

We also go off the rails when we gossip. In the context of FaceBook and other social media, gossip also includes sharing information from others that we have not verified as truthful.  The amount of untruthful or questionable information being gossiped on FaceBook today is staggering.

I'm still unpacking the import of Peter's words as it relates to us today. I would be quite interested to hear what you think.

My Dreams For America Are Not On Hillary Clinton's Path

I am going to mark my election ballot for Donald Trump.

I am going to do so in the belief that my dreams for my country, and for my family will be best realized on another path than that Hillary Clinton treads.  My vote will likely not decide the issue in a state that leans heavily towards her, but I will vote against her anyway.  Only one other candidate can possibly defeat her.

The future of our republic will in no small measure be decided by those the next president appoints to the Supreme Court.  A Clinton presidency will most likely appoint justices who believe the Constitution to be a “living document”, which seems to me to be a euphemism for “it can be interpreted to fit the needs of the current political climate.”  A Trump presidency will most likely appoint justices who respect the intents of the framers of the constitution and who believe that the constitution is a living document in that it can be changed by the amendment process.

Abraham Lincoln wrote of “a government of the people, by the people, for the people”.  Those words resonate in American dreams with the crystal clarity of a bugle call's pure note.  Yet today, it feels to me as if we are sleep walking toward “a people of the government, by the government, for the government.”  Certainly, no candidate perfectly embodies either one of these polar opposites.  But it feels to me as if Hillary Clinton is more about her and her government, and the people who can serve her and it.  That is not in my dreams for my country and my children.

I am not happy to vote for Donald Trump.  He has many failings.   But Hillary Clinton also has many failings.  Actually, I am unmoved by arguments that one has fewer failings or more.  It is for my dreams that I vote.

I considered voting for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.  California will likely vote heavily for Democratic party candidates as it has done consistently in recent decades….so my vote for Trump would probably not decide the issue, I reasoned.  I thought I wanted to be able to say that I didn’t vote for either.  But I finally realized that even if there is only a slight chance of defeating Hillary Clinton with my vote, I must appear on the electoral battlefield nonetheless.

People I love are staking out other positions.  While I might disagree, I still respect hearts that honestly seek the best for our country. Our different political views do not hinder my love.  I hope as this election passes into memory, we can rally in unity around the shared ideals of America and remember to earnestly pray “....for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

Recently I emerged from the miasma of political chatter to remember again that the plans of God are not hindered by the election of a given president.  Solomon wrote, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.”  Even in the midst of the Babylonian captivity, God moved the heart of a pagan king to send Nehemiah to Jerusalem where he rebuilt the city and began the restoration of the nation of Israel.

This says to me that by short path or long, the purposes of God will prevail.  I will not fear the result of this election, because God is good.  He is for us and not against us.

That is the foundation on which all my dreams rest.