Partisans on both sides hellbent on victory

standards, which haunt the minds of many on the left. Nearly all stem from the perceived need to defend presidential rhetoric and behavior that violate the standards of the pre-Trump GOP. Such double standards are toxic, because they lead people to conclude that norms of decency and decorum are just tools of a rigged system. But all the shrieks of whataboutism are downstream of a larger problem: the loss of collective identity.

Humans crave what philosopher-anthropologist Ernest Gellner called “reenchantment creeds.” According to Gellner, modernity — i.e., the trinity of the scientific revolution, the Enlightenment and the market economy — dissolved the old creeds that gave people a sense of meaning and belonging. When traditional religion gets chased out, we adopt other causes, movements and ideas to fill the holes in our souls.

Partisan politics has become a kind of re-enchantment creed. A majority of Americans say that belief in God isn’t necessary to be a good person, which is fine by itself. But in 2016, nearly half of Republicans and more than a third of Democrats said that members of the other party were immoral.

Partisan identity is now stronger and more meaningful for many Americans than race, ethnicity or religious denomination — and is viewed as a more legitimate justification for discrimination.

When liberals cheer the mob to harass government officials and are encouraged by hacks such as Rep. Maxine Waters, when businesses shun not just members of the Trump entourage but anyone who voted for him, when conservatives rationalize any wickedness on the grounds that it will “own the libs,” I don’t see something new so much as the revival of something very old. It is the return of “No Irish Need Apply,” but with Republicans or Democrats replacing the Irish.

Partisans are convinced that the answer to our woes lies in total victory over the other. This is disastrous, because the embrace of partisan identity exacerbates the problem, and because our government was never designed to fill the holes in our souls.