What Canadians can learn from polarization in the United States

As another American election cycle nears its end and we spectate as our neighbours to the south continue at each others throats, there are many lessons to be learned for Canadians. Despite calls for post-election unity by Joe Biden, the nation is still deeply divided. Those on the political right are rejecting the election results, and many on the left are smearing the 71 million people who voted for Donald Trump as racist xenophobes.

Polarization has escalated in America to a fever pitch in recent years, with each side demonizing the other. One could make a case that the Trump effect is to blame, and many have done just that. However, perhaps the MAGA movement is a symptom, not the cause. So how does Canada avoid the rise of such polarization?

The first step is simple. Listen to one other. To cease speaking is not enough, this requires we really listen and engage. Have conversations with people you disagree with, welcome opposing stances. How confident can we be in our views if they haven’t been tested? We need to return to civil discourse with our friends and neighbours. Let’s move away from the online keyboard rage and engage with actual humans, face to face.

Politically themed interactions tend to turn many people off, but perhaps that is because we have forgotten how to have these conversations. It is a rare experience of this generation to have engaged in political debate at the dinner table or even extended family gatherings, something that used to be the norm in families and that prepared people to disagree during the entree and still have dessert together. These dynamics forced people to contend with the substance of arguments instead of lazily attaching some predictable epithet, discounting the opinions of those we disagree with. People had examples in their lives of people who had alternative views accompanied by admirable qualities; a phenomenon found less and less today as people exist within their own echo-chamber with the power of blocking someone at their fingertips.

Perhaps the best way to have a productive exchange is to detach a person from their opinions. Doug’s stance on climate change should not define how I think of him, nor should Sally’s shocking statement on welfare affect the way I speak to her. The more hostile we are to members across the political divide, the farther from us we’ve pushed them. When we recover the ability to engage in lively, respectful civil discourse, challenging ourselves to counter bad ideas with better ideas, election results won’t be so shocking as to drive us to light a car on fire or destroy personal property.

Common ground is the gold-standard and should be sought above all else. If we can find things we agree on, we’ve already moved closer together. Discovering what we can agree on can only be achieved when we learn to engage respectfully. Canadians need to be critical of our elected officials who refuse to reach across the aisle, who condemn the proposed solution based on its source and not its content, who engage in “us and them” rhetoric instead of productive and unifying speech.

It may sound far-fetched, but it was not long ago that images of western separatist passports were circulating on Canadian social media. If we value our democracy and peace, we will make respectful discourse and the pursuit of common ground our top priority.

Let’s move away from the online keyboard rage and engage with actual humans, face to face