Recently I have noticed that I get more upset than I used to at people with political opinions that differ from mine. Not only do I react negatively to their opinion, I react negatively to the person expressing it. This never used to be the case; I was always open-minded, even accepting differences as a positive encounter. What has changed? It does not occur to me to be disapproving about someone’s taste in art or music. If I like classical music and post-impressionist paintings and they prefer rap and minimalist art, it is not an issue. Tastes and values evolve over time for both individuals and cultures. In 1913, people threw things at the orchestra during the premiere of Stravinsky’s the Rite of Spring; today it is considered a classic. An exhibition in Paris of early impressionists in the early 1900s was panned; today their artwork sells for millions.
Some beliefs that were common a generation ago are no longer acceptable, and so it is with economics, psychology, even literature. What used to be considered mainstream is objectionable. The banned books of a century ago are now in school libraries. Child labor was common then too; today it is illegal. It was only in 1920 that women got the right to vote in the United States. What I may call avant-garde today might be old hat tomorrow. What do we reject now that will be seen as mainstream in a few dozen years?
Political decisions can affect my life, whereas people’s tastes in the arts do not. So I take politics to heart, irrespective of the political and cultural trends of the past or what may be seen as acceptable in the future. It is the “now” that matters. It is what is impacting me today that I care about. It is not only others individual’s political beliefs that I am beginning to disdain; I find I have a new rigidity about which newscast to follow and which newspapers to read, because they each express a political stance, which I will agree or disagree with.
I have begun to wonder about this contentiousness, because I am not the only one reacting, I see my friends becoming quite belligerent when confronting people with an opposing perspective. I wonder why there is such antagonism. Perhaps it is because we live today with an uncertain future. The world’s tendency towards electing leaders to the far right or far left, the looming climate change that will impact our lives and those of our descendants, predictions of severe droughts, floods, fires, the extinction of entire species, the increasing inequality of the standards of living throughout the world—all these make us uneasy and even frightened.
When our environment appears to be dangerous, it makes us feel vulnerable. Feeling unsafe, we tend to retreat into safety; safety is being with others like us. We are more secure within our group, where there is support and agreement.
This is a return to tribalism. The need to belong is more important than the need to agree with all the moral and ethical stances our tribe has embraced. So we bend our belief systems to the group’s positions, whether we share those beliefs or not. As groups form, they formulate an identity, which can become rigid: “This is us” and “That is them”—them being first seen as different, then wrong, and eventually threatening. This is when the group can become inflexible, unyielding to compromise, believing “ours is the only way.” This contributes to attitudes that may promote clashes with those outside the tribe.
I have to admit here that these are my own rambling thoughts not based on research, so perhaps it is best taken with a grain of salt. This is an attempt for me to understand my own recent negative reactions to others’ political beliefs. I had always prided myself in being compassionate, understanding, and tolerant of different-minded people. I am appalled when I not only dislike what I hear, but have negative feelings about the person formulating these beliefs. Perhaps adhering to the oft-repeated admonishment: “Don’t kill the messenger” is especially relevant today. I know I need to separate the message from the messenger, the content from the person. Instead of being unhappy at the utterances of people I am fond of, I will appreciate them for who they are, for what they do, for their acceptance of me, and not react to their partisan affiliations. This may be food for thought for you, my readers, too! Copyright © 2020. Natasha Josefowitz. All rights reserved.