Politics, Tribalism and Worldviews

Surely the recent election season pointed to the need for more civil discourse in this country and Ben Sasse, Republican Senator for Nebraska, has just written a book titled THEM: Why We Hate Each Other and How to Heal.  The various chapters focus on our loneliness and the resulting anger that is displayed as a result of fear and a feeling of not belonging. Instead of pursuing elusive personal happiness, Sasse offers more traditional advice: love your neighbor and connect with your community. Expanding upon work by social scientists like Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone), Sasse says, “Our isolation has deprived us of healthy local tribes with whom we share values and goals and ways of life that uplift us and so we fall into ‘anti-tribes,’ defined by what we’re against rather than what we’re for.” Certainly, several Junior Themers will be interested in the concept of “rootedness.” In addition, this title has relevance for our work on “fake news,” misinformation, and filter bubbles – or the “polititainment” and polarization which Sasse decries. 

 

PRIUS OR PICKUP? by Marc Hetherington and Jonathan Weiler also explores “why the [political] parties and the people who identify with them seem more like tribal enemies than members of a single national community who disagree about some things.” Hetherington and Weiler argue that people tend to have either more of a “fluid” or “fixed” worldview, where the former see a world full of mostly good people and the latter feel threatened and see protection of oneself as a high priority. The authors explain that conservatives are actually apt to have greater startle and disgust responses, something they contend is tied to choices in education and occupation, noting differences between management’s bottom-line orientation (more fixed) and the creativity (or fluidness) of other professions. PRIUS OR PICKUP? is an accessible text which includes charts documenting differences in worldviews and party identification, as well as attitudes about military force, gender, LGBT issues, and immigration.

GOOD AND MAD by Rebecca Traister deals with “The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger” as noted in the subtitle.  In fact, Traister, who also wrote All the Single Ladies, provides historical context and alludes to various cycles reflecting women’s anger including 1920’s suffragettes, 1970’s ERA and today’s Women’s March and #MeToo movement. Throughout, she points to a double standard in terms of women’s actions and attitudes as well as the tension between white women and women of color. Filled with quotes (like Sara Robinson saying, “Women’s rage has been sublimated for so long that there’s simply no frame for what happens when it finally comes to the surface”), Traister extensively documents how women are taught to suppress anger. Her work is highly relevant for our students and recent graduates; she summarizes work by a sociology professor at Oklahoma State University as follows: “about half of women in their late twenties who’ve experienced harassment start looking for a new job within two years of the incident. For those who’ve endured more serious harassment the figure is around 80 percent- and many opt to leave their chosen profession altogether: to start over, often in less male-dominated fields, which, of course, tend to be lower-paying.” There’s a hopeful note as she comments on the opportunity and necessity to be a catalyst for change, although “the process of change was going to be slow, hard and often circular.” A surprisingly dense text, GOOD AND MAD received starred reviews from Booklist (“fiery tome”), Kirkus (“gripping call to action”), and Publishers Weekly. For more on this topic, see also Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger by Soraya Chemaly.    

Nevertheless We Persisted

“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.” ~Hemingway

The above quote was read and then repeated at John McCain’s memorial service and it is as inspirational as the “48 Voices of Defiance, Strength, and Courage” who contributed to NEVERTHELESS, WE PERSISTED. That new text is quite an interesting collection with perceptive essays from a variety of often lesser known individuals who have overcome obstacles related to race, gender, religion, and sexual identity. I especially liked “Learning about Empathy” by Imran Siddiquee because I think it nicely parallels the work Voices of Equity students have been doing on “What it Feels Like to be ___ at New Trier.”  In a description of this collection, the publisher notes the athletes, many types of artists, politicians and teens who contributed and asks, “How did they break out of society's limited view of who they are and find their way to the beautiful and hard-won lives they live today?” 

NEVERTHELESS, WE PERSISTED contains a foreword by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and received a starred review from VOYA and from Kirkus which called it “required reading” and described these essays as stories “of struggle to find identity and self-love while confronting the racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism that remain embedded in American culture.”  The text includes a brief biography of each contributor as well as several guiding questions to prompt individual reflection and class discussions. Inspired readers interested in activism resources should also look for KEEP MARCHING by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner (published in May).

A related, but much more academic work is WHITE KIDS by Margaret A. Hagerman (published by New York University Press). Its subtitle is “Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America” and the author begins powerfully with quotes from middle school students about their perceptions of race. Hagerman, an Assistant Professor of Sociology, continues by sharing results of her studies based on two years of research with white, affluent, Midwestern students. She asks: “How do white kids learn race? What role do parents play in shaping children’s racial views?” It may not be surprising that many white parents consider themselves “anti-racist,” but Hagerman explores further, focusing on key differences in the outcomes of white racial socialization across families, neighborhoods, and schools.  She argues that all children growing up in the United States have lives that are structured by race and provides numerous examples (education, law enforcement, family relationships, opportunities) while trying to better understand how “some of the children in this study thought the shooting of Trayvon Martin was a grave violation of human rights and … other children did not even know Trayvon’s name.” Hagerman deftly examines the political and cultural segregation that we also have been contemplating (e.g., living in a bubble); hopefully, her work will spark more conversation. While perhaps too scholarly for most students, our teachers, administrators and parents will find much to contemplate and discuss.