It’s almost over. The ads, the debates, the incessant text messagIng and robocalls from politicians who want to know if I “stand with them.” The incessant television commercials telling us that if the other side wins, democracy will die (It won’t). Yes, it’s almost over…for now.
Before this thing ends, though, we ought to talk about how we got here. When did belonging to a political party become more important than belonging to a community?
For generations, many Americans found meaning In belonging to a community. They went to church, joined civic organizations, knew their neighbors, and spent time with people who may not agree with them on everything. Somewhere along the way, many of those connections began to fade.
But, the need for connection didn’t disappear. We still want to believe in something bigger than ourselves. We still want to feel that we belong somewhere and that our lives mean something. Politics has a core set of beliefs, common practices, a moral code, and a community of like-minded people sharing a common doctrine. There are heroes, villains, saints and sinners, and the promise that if the righteous can just defeat the villan, we can rid the world of evil.
Of course, not everyone has abandoned religion. Many people remain deeply committed to their faith. But politics has a way of finding its way into our churches, families, friendships, and communities, until we begin to see almost everything through the lens of which team we’re on.
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When politics becomes your religion, disagreement can feel like a personal attack. Someone who sees an issue differently is no longer just a neighbor with a different point of view. They are evil, the enemy.
To some degree we are all suckers in this game. Like the unsuspecting Thanksgiving turkey that is fed every day. Every single feeding will firm up the bird’s belief that it is the general rule of life to be fed every day by friendly members of the human race “looking out for its best interests,” as a politician would say. On the afternoon of the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, something unexpected will happen to the turkey. It will incur a revision of belief.” (Nassim Taleb)
To be fair, politics matters. Elections have consequences, and reasonable people can disagree passionately about laws, rights, public safety, and the future of the country. Caring deeply about those things doesn’t make someone a nut. Sometimes it means they’re paying attention.
The problem begins when we decide that everyone who disagrees with us must be stupid, corrupt, or evil. It gets even worse when we give our own team a pass for the very behavior we condemn in the other.
None of this is new to the United States. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson weren’t exactly meeting for drinks after work. Hamilton often characterized Jefferson as a “hypocrite and a dreamer.” A “fanatic” who lacked the practical sense required to govern. John Adams once described Hamilton as "a bastard brat of a Scotch peddler." John F. Kennedy said that Nixon was "a shifty-eyed son of a bitch."
Alexander Hamilton and TJ.
Regardless of who wins, there will be 75 million people feeling angry or depressed or filled with uncontrollable rage because their team didn’t win the Championship. It’s beyond anger, though. As we Georgia fans like to say about Georgia Tech, it’s “clean, old fashioned hate”
Many years from now, when you’re taking your final breaths, I doubt you’ll be thinking about who won the mid-terms in 2026. I suspect you’ll be thinking about the people you loved, the time you spent together, and perhaps the conversations you wish you’d had.
The election will end, and one team will win. The question is whether we can remember that, when it’s over, we still have to live together and your neighbor isn‘t evil because they voted for the other team.
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