As they do each December, Merriam-Webster recently announced its word of the year. “Polarization” is the selection for 2024, which their dictionary defines as “division into two sharply distinct opposites.”
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Last week, I had the privilege of attending a remarkable event in Denver—a gathering of civic leaders, religious teachers, and community members. The theme of the gathering was “Repairing the Breach,” a conversation focused on bridging cultural and political divides.
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I was watching the NFL yesterday and noticed the many causes that players were celebrating with their cleats. I saw the American Cancer Society, and yes Special Olympics, and many others.
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It’s almost Thanksgiving. For many of us, that means gathering with family members around the holiday table and talking to relatives who oppose our politics.
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“The National Citizens Panel, representing the range of political and cultural viewpoints in the country, has validated a key premise of the Dignity Index,” said Shriver, a co-creator of the Index. “It’s shown that people can get beyond their biases and see the contempt coming from their own side and see the dignity coming from the other side -- and see the value to the country of choosing dignity over
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Two years ago, my organization, the Dignity Index, issued a warning to our country: Our national addiction to dehumanizing contempt had reached a point at which the future of the country was at stake. Contempt, not policy differences, our data suggested, is tearing us apart.
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Here’s one of the biggest paradoxes we face now in the United States – and it’s especially relevant after campaign season:
The use of contempt is rising -- even as unhappiness with contempt is also rising.
“Campaigns are long, challenging tests for all sides,” said Shriver, co-creator of the Index. “Everyone gets hit with attacks at some point, and everyone gets hurt. Positive expressions of goodwill can help the two sides begin to get past the pain of the campaign.”
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“The exhausted majority is becoming more exhausted,” said Shriver. “And it’s not just the people in the middle. The partisan wings are weary of contempt too, even when it comes from their own side. As we near the end of the campaign, Americans are starving for politicians who can speak to all voters with dignity and show the rest of the candidates how.”
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“The panelists’ scores again show a strong bipartisan agreement on dignity and contempt,” said Shriver. “The comments also show that the panelists can be passionately invested in an issue and still see through efforts to manipulate their emotions and divide them from other Americans.”
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“The scores this week show that panelists recognize the presence of dignity or contempt whether they agree with the speaker or not,” said Shriver, a co-creator of the Index. “And the comments support the view that a “dignity strategy” – searching for common interests and values, for example – can be much more appealing to voters than a contempt strategy, which demonizes opponents to energize supporters.”
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“The scores this week are the strongest contempt scores yet registered by the National Citizens Panel,” said Shriver. “And they also have the highest bipartisan agreement on the scores themselves. It shows that people can recognize contempt even when it comes from their own side, and they see the damage it does.”
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“When our political parties use the contempt strategy – demonizing their opponents to energize their supporters – it has an unintended effect,” said Shriver. “It turns away the voters they need to win. The candidate that can treat the other side with dignity has a better chance of winning the swing voters who may decide this election.”
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National Citizens Panel finds that contempt continues to pervade political speech and damage national unity.
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Bipartisan National Citizens Panel Issues Second Round of Scores with the Dignity Index. Panel scores and comments offer support for a Dignity Strategy
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It would be hard to imagine a more unlikely series of political events than those of the last few days and weeks.
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We couldn’t be more different.
If you ask us to list the things we disagree on, you’d be waiting a while.
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Millions of us will tune in on Thursday to watch the first of the two debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. And millions of us will rant at our screens and mock and condemn whichever candidate we oppose.
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Last week, I visited Elmwood Elementary School in Naperville, Illinois where students, teachers, parents, and administrators are doing amazing work with social and emotional learning strategies and programs.
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