Thursday, October 31, 2024

Whoever wins, we’ll still be polarized. What can an average person do about it?

Ever since Donald Trump launched his first campaign for president, his appeal has mystified me, and I’ve seldom passed up articles attempting to explain it. A particularly chilly theory was offered by The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols. Trump’s supporters want him to be “terrifying and stomach-turning,” Nichols said, to “horrify people both they and Trump hate.” No despicable behavior on Trump’s part, and nothing Kamala Harris says or does, will change their feelings.


I was tempted to compose a post saying that the feeling is mutual. 


Then, attending church nine days before the election, I heard a sermon about charity toward those on the other side of the political divide.