Beyond Anger: The Necessity of Liberal Civility

By Luke Strong

The morning after this year’s US election evoked the political side of many. Scrolling through social media as an American, my feed showed many people exuberant about the result, while others posted quotes that depicted the dread many Americans will feel throughout the next four years. Of these posts, the most concerning were those made by a number of liberals on social media throwing around epithets describing all who voted against them, calling them racist, sexist, etc., othering the majority and even going to the length of saying that those who voted differently to them should block them.

As a staunch, lifelong American liberal, I was incredibly disappointed by the result of the presidential election and concerned for the future of my nation. However, the aforementioned sentiment – that we must turn ourselves off to the other side – despite being widespread in liberal Americans is incredibly dangerous. It goes without saying that the US is a divided nation, as 47% of the country thinks that it is likely that they will see a civil war in their lifetime [1]. Throughout the country, discussions of unity as a necessity for the US going forward dominate political discourse, and it was a large talking point on both sides during the presidential campaigns. However, talking about unity and putting it into practice are two completely different things, and silencing the people we disagree with gets us nowhere.

What do we gain by shunning the other side? We erect echo chambers and epistemic bubbles that trap one within the Algorithm, in a constant state of reinforcement of one political ideology on social media and in regular discourse. Liberals then only engage with liberal ideas, failing to challenge and develop these beliefs, a critical part of crafting a strong vision for the future. It is this cycle that precisely increased partisan polarization over this century and directly led to the rise of the far-right. For it was numerous people on platforms like 4chan isolating themselves, reinforcing their own ideas, and building up unique, dangerous ideological foundations that led to incidents like the Pizza gate panic [2]. The far­ right, ultimately, dismisses anyone from the other side as lying and untrustworthy, crafting their own narrative about the world, amplifying disinformation accepted as infallible truth. This ignorance is a grave threat for anyone who breaks off contact with their ideological opposition.

There is genuine anger to be felt at the US election if you’re a liberal. Those feelings a re quite real, but that anger cannot be directly tossed onto the people who voted for the other side. Giving all of these supporters a blanket label of racist, sexist, ignorant people who do not deserve our attention is a failure to understand why they voted how they did. It is a complete inability to have any empathy for any voter’s circumstances or grasp the problems with the liberal message that did not resonate with them. Instead, it isolates the other side and gives us liberals a bad reputation. Most importantly, though, it harms any attempt at unity, fracturing and dividing our nation even more.

When I look at American politics, one of the most promising stories in recent history is the friendship between Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. These now-deceased US Supreme Court judges were on opposite ideological sides and strongly so. It was rare for them to be on the same side of a ruling, and they each believed that the other’s legal logic was incredibly flawed. However, they enjoyed a rich friendship during their years on the Supreme Court. From vacationing together to spending New Year’s with each other each year, they were able to set their politics aside and recognize their shared humanity [3]. Interviews with them showcased a genuine, lively spark, and Ginsburg’s eulogy at Scalia’s funeral mentioned one of his most important quotes: “I attack ideas, not people [4].”

It is easy to resort to universal epithets and labels for your political opponents. I have been guilty of this because of my genuine anger at their decisions. However, the fact of the matter is that over 75 million people voted against liberals. For us to alienate such a large proportion of the country is flawed by any standards. Don’t attack people; attack their ideas. Over the next four years, liberals need to engage with opposing voters as much as possible, understand their views, and better their vision for a shared future that people can believe in during future elections.

Sources:

[1] Rep. A Nation Divided? MaristPoll, May 21, 2024.  https://maristpoll. mari st.e du/polls/a-nation-divided/.

[2] Abdulaziz AlShehhi and Gina Bou Serhal, “From Fringe to American Mainstream: The Rise of Far-Right Extremism in the 21st Century,” TRENDS Research & Advisory, August 5, 2024, https://trendsresearc h.org/in sight/fro m-f ringe-to-american-mainstream -the-rise-of-far-right-extremism-in- the-21st-century/.

[3] Slattery, Elizabeth. “What We Can Learn from Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Friendship.” Pacific Legal Foundation, December 20, 2023. https://pacificlegal.org/antonin-scalia-and-ruth-bader­ ginsburgs-friendship/.

[4] YouTube. Accessed November 12, 2024.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb 2GgE564A