Toxicity of American Political Culture Is Harming Our Nation and Communities

Never in my life have I seen the level of political hostility we have in our country today. Occasionally we see people riot and protest over what they believe or perceive to be an injustice, but what our country has experienced since January 20 is outright toxic and ultimately damaging to our nation. More disturbing is the damage it is creating in our own backyards. There has always been two or more sides with opposing views on controversial topics, and one can only imagine the chaos and fights from disagreements those town-hall type meetings in revolutionary war era taverns produced. I’m sure there were multiple causalities caused by the disagreement on whether American should seek full independence or remain loyal to Britain. Yet news traveled much slower 250 years ago and since Al Gore invented the Internet, today’s discourse, or lack thereof, is different, and much worse. When people state their reasons for protesting these days, most simply mention President Trump and what may or may not be his policy or political intentions. But I believe it goes much deeper. American has become increasingly divided along racial, gender and socio-economic levels and I see no end in sight. In the months [...]