Fighting Unreason with Reason
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Fighting Unreason with Reason. Over the last several years, I’ve been on a mission to understand why our country is so divided, and why reasonable debate has been crowded out by anger and rancor.
While our current American schism feels unprecedented, after an investigative tracing of our history, I’ve found these differences have existed in one way or another since our founding. But history can act as a salve for our wounds of today if we are willing to apply it. By examining how our predecessors struggled with, and, at times, resolved these issues, we can better understand today’s quandaries, evaluate potential policy alternatives, and appreciate just how valuable our democratic processes are.
Each month, I’ll explore a current news topic and its historical antecedents in an effort to illuminate how the past can help us better understand the present, as well as share some of the conversations I’m having with people to help bridge the divide. In the Notes From the Exhausted Majority, I’ll list books, interviews, or articles that I feel shed light on where we are as a nation and where we’re headed.
FINDING REASON IN UNREASONABLE TIMES: Facebookopoly
My article this month focuses on how the Facebook empire has dominated the virtual world, influencing everything from how we socialize to how we elect our representatives. Should Facebook—and its parent company, Meta—be broken up, the way Teddy Roosevelt trust-busted the steel and railroad companies of the 1900s?
Read the full article HERE.
THE ROAD TO REASON
Braver Angels is a nonprofit organization devoted to bridging the partisan divide and depolarizing our nation—a mission that aligns closely with my own. I was recently a guest on their podcast to talk about the historical roots of our American Schism. You can listen to the episode here.
I recently visited Peabody Award-winning broadcaster Leonard Lopate and discussed solutions to stopping the vicious cycle of anger and rancor characterizing our current political landscape, including rejecting ad hominem attacks and injecting debate with reason and civility. Listen to the interview here.
NOTES FROM THE EXHAUSTED MAJORITY
We’ve seen an increase in conservative leaders warning citizens about the collapse of society, calling for a return to traditional values. But instituting Christianity as the basis of government isn’t only antithetical to our founding, it’s a dangerous swing towards autocracy. Read more about this dangerous trend in Heather Cox Richardson’s recent issue of Letters from an American.
It’s easy to feel like we’re in uncharted territory when it comes to our current political differences, but the country found itself in a similarly bitter fight in the late 19th century. For four decades, from 1860 to 1900, the country’s democracy was characterized by anger and rancor, including partisan combat, contentious elections, and a four-year Civil War. It wasn’t until the turn of the century that Americans calmed down, ushering in an era called “The Great Quieting,” which was distinguished by what the Los Angeles Times called “more thinking and less shouting.” This calm conduct slowly became the norm, but it was little more than a cease-fire that’s flamed up in modern times. The underlying issues still remain. John Grinspan wrote a great essay in The New York Times about the topic, which you can read here.
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