It’s time to leave our echo chambers

Last week will go down as one of the most awful in recent American history because of the murders of 11 Jewish worshippers in Pittsburgh and the pipe bombs mailed to at least 14 prominent Democrats and national security figures perceived by the ‘‘CNN sucks’’ crowd to be constant critics of President Donald Trump. These heinous acts created a sense of a violent nation spinning out of control. With each crime, the suspects’ hate-filled views came into sharper, shocking focus.

Yes, as White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday (local time), it’s wrong to hold the president responsible for the acts of deranged individuals. But it is not wrong to hold the nation’s leader responsible for setting a terrible example with his constant attempts to divide Americans. Instead of trying to act as a unifying force, he gleefully governs by ostracising entire groups. This is not an excuse for the displays of gross incivility on the Left. Tribalism? Racism? A biologically hard-wired fear of the other? However labelled, it is increasingly clear that in many developed nations, there are many who prefer homogeneity to diversity.

Developing empathy for people with different views may be difficult in an era in which it is easy to live in an echo chamber. But putting hatred – and mutual loathing – in their place is a start. A cancer is eating our country. Don’t let it.