#political-polarization

#political-polarization

Costa Rica heads to the polls on Sunday in an election dominated by increasing insecurity and warnings of an authoritarian turn in a country long seen as a model of liberal democracy in the region. Crime is a big concern for many voters as criminal groups battle to control lucrative cocaine trafficking routes to Europe and the US, casting a shadow on the Central American country famous for its wildlife tourism.

The principle of intellectual charity is fundamental to constructive political conversations. This principle states that, in any discussion, we should accept the best version of an opponent's ideas, not a distorted version or a "straw man." Exaggeration and distortion of opposing opinions (always present, to some degree, in political debates) have become the standard form of political argument in contemporary America.

An acceptance of violence and extremism, and the dehumanization that is integrated with that viewpoint, comes when you stop thinking that you have a shared future with other people,

call a Republican.

Taylor Swift's latest album, "The Life of a Showgirl," generated a cultural whirlwind: chart-topping success, social media saturation and frenzied debate over her artistic evolution. Nonetheless, despite this warm reception, opinions on Swift are deeply polarized by party. Democrats are far more likely to view her positively; Republicans are more likely to hold negative views. This partisan divide remains in place even after accounting

When fear dominates, nuance and exceptions fade. Over time, this dynamic creates insular echo chambers that amplify threat narratives while filtering out contradictory evidence. What is particularly striking, and deeply concerning, is that this climate of dread is no longer confined to one group. It is now mirrored across political divides, leaving many people-regardless of affiliation-feeling powerless, overwhelmed, and chronically anxious.

A emotional fitness community that just got $26 million in venture capital thrown at them has installed a phone on Valencia Street that lets you Call a Republican in Texas, perhaps to foster unity, or perhaps just to record you. KTVU ran a Monday feature about a new Call a Republican phone that was just installed right outside the Black Serum Tattoo Shop at Valencia and 14th streets.

Most Americans now accept the basic physics of climate change-that manmade greenhouse-gas emissions are raising global temperatures. Yet the public discussion of climate change is still remarkably broken in the United States. Leaders of one political party frame climate change as an existential emergency that threatens human life and prosperity. Leaders of the other dismiss it as a distraction from economic growth and energy security. Economists like me, trained to think about trade-offs,

Many saw Renee Good, a mother of three, trying to flee U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when she was shot three times in the face as she drove past the agent who pulled the trigger. Others, including those inside the Trump administration, claim those very same videos show a woman trying to use her car to ram into an agent, who reacted in self-defense.

It's human nature to judge your personal economics and mood on how you feel, influenced heavily by conscious and subconscious comparisons to others. So it's possible President Trump is right: U.S. growth and stocks soar in 2026. But even then, because the AI-connected hyperwealthy do so much better than everyone else, fear and resentment still grow. It's also possible the AI bubble pops, and everyone suffers. But the Have-Lots will (mostly) still have lots.

The left branded the ICE agent a "rogue officer" who executed a U.S. citizen during a federal immigration crackdown that never should have happened in the first place. The right labeled the slain driver as a "domestic terrorist" and framed the shooting as a clear-cut case of self-defense amid an assault on law enforcement. The same video footage, watched by millions of Americans, fueled both narratives.

Goldberg quoted Leah Greenberg, a founder of the resistance group Indivisible, who said that while Donald Trump "has been able to do extraordinary damage that will have generational effects, he has not successfully consolidated power. That has been staved off, and it has been staved off not, frankly, due to the efforts of pretty much anyone in elite institutions or political leadership but due to the efforts of regular people declining to go along with fascism."

The great sports sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards has described athletes as "the canary in the coal mine," meaning that the politics and struggles in sports prefigure what will come elsewhere in society. Think of Jackie Robinson integrating baseball nearly a decade before the Montgomery bus boycotts or Billie Jean King signaling the coming of Title IX legislation by standing for women's liberation in a traditionally male and hostile space.

It seems possible that what will ultimately emerge is a clarified sense of principles and a deeper commitment to them (which is why part of the conflict is over American history itself). On one hand, there are the heads of the federal government and their spokespeople, whose lies are part of their disdain for the electorate and the rule of law.

We don't need to see Donald Trump's name on there, Schneider said. What are we allowed to put it on? Jennings asked. He picks a memorial to a slain assassinated president it's gross. It's absolutely gross it's pretty disgusting, Schneider continued. It's not necessary, they're drilling holes into the walls, the pristine white walls of the Kennedy Center that Jennings at that point jumped in and said he cannot understand how liberals can be so worked up about it.

Why Political Conversations Feel So Hopeless Political life in the United States is increasingly marked by interparty animus, including tendencies toward dehumanization. Partisans can seem to prefer distance to dialogue and moral judgment to intellectual engagement. Such unproductive habits steadily erode both the willingness to engage politically and the capacity to consider ideas that conflict with one's own. It's easy to assume that political conversations are hopeless because nothing you say is likely to change anyone's mind.

Being right is a victory for the ego. Being connected is a truth of the soul. We are always connected-all that fluctuates is our awareness of that reality. But in being right, we not only forget that truth, but we translate the pain of disconnection into the cost of our struggle. Of course things are hard-because the other side makes it that way. This is true whether it's our political enemy or viewing our partner as the enemy.

He said it four times in seven seconds: Somali immigrants in the United States are "garbage." It was no mistake. In fact, President Donald Trump's rhetorical attacks on immigrants have been building since he said Mexico was sending "rapists" across the border during his presidential campaign announcement a decade ago. He's also echoed rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler and called the 54 nations of Africa "s--hole countries." But with one flourish closing a two-hour Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump amped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric even further and ditched any claim that his administration was only seeking to remove people in the U.S. illegally.

Schadenfreude seems to permeate American politics these days as viral clips and memes of politicians making real or AI-generated gaffes and off-color remarks are gleefully shared by ideological foes. The German word, which means taking delight in another's misfortune, describes a response that was once taboo to express openly. Now it's been embraced by partisans as a powerful weapon to reinforce political support and group identity.

I am deeply, deeply concerned about what I've been seeingfor almost 10 years now. We see great division in families and friendships broken up over how strongly they feel about Trump, Alpert said. What I'm seeing is symptoms that in many ways mirror other disorders. People are anxious, they're angry, they can't sleep. One person even said she couldn't possibly enjoy a family vacation as long as Trump is out there.

Politics is replacing religion.