The Politics of Political Expression

Isn’t it true that we tend to live our lives in the “grey areas”, while we express ourselves politically in stark black or white terms?

Why is that?

Perhaps it’s because politics, in the U.S. and in other countries throughout the world, is like a team sport.

Think about it. Political parties market themselves much like sports teams…with colors, logos, slogans, heroes and such.

It would seem that the explosion of Donald Trump onto the political scene has only increased that “team” aspect.

And we like being part of a team, don’t we?

That need for “team” solidarity is embedded in our DNA. We feel secure as part of a team. There is strength in numbers, right? We like the popularity we experience with other team members. We like the solace of being part of a like-thinking tribe.

We believe it increases our chances of winning.

Even so, in the reality of our day-to-day lives we live shoulder to shoulder with opposing team members. And so far, we’ve been doing a pretty good job of it. Your co-workers aren’t all team members, are they? And yet you get along with them…at least well enough to get the job done…right?

It seems that so far we’ve done a pretty good job at separating real life from politics. We’ve been managing the politics of political expression fairly well in the hum-drum of daily life.

Now, that’s actually a semi-facetious statement, since our real lives are governed to a large extent by what transpires, or fails to transpire, in politics. Nevertheless, the point is that we normally get through Thanksgiving Dinner without throwing a turkey leg at uncle so-and-so.

Of course, politicians on opposing teams hardly ever get along. And that often renders them basically ineffective. But we can’t live our lives that way…can we? If we did, boy what a mess that would be!

And perhaps for too many people, the politics of political expression translates into spending too much time posting polarizing memes on Facebook, or “mean tweeting” insults about the opposing team.

What happens when this polarization becomes such a predominant aspect of our lives that we as a society can no longer get along?

Can society survive that? Is it sustainable? What does it mean for future generations if society suffers complete breakdown as a result of the politics of political expression?

Kind of a scary scenario, isn’t it?

We could be headed in that direction. There are some strong indications that we are.

My message this morning is only this: maybe we should give that some serious thought.