Tribalism
I was listening to Peter Navarro on conservative talk radio the other night. (The Joe Pags Show.) He was pumping his new book, I Went to Prison So You Won’t Have to: A Love and Lawfare Story in Trump Land. I don’t begrudge him for trying to monetize his 4-month prison experience. I don’t even take issue with the fact that he characterized his fellow low-level prisoners as hardened criminals and horrible people instead of fellow Americans who had made mistakes. He was just trying to play up the whole prison thing. Although I do think his portrayal of the minimum-security camp where he did his time as anything other than “Club Fed” is highly misleading. But there was one thing he said that was so infuriating, so divisive and inflammatory, that I had to cut my radio off. It went like this: “They put me in prison. They put Steve Bannon in prison. They tried to put Trump in prison. Then they tried to assassinate him. Twice. They bankrupted Rudy Giuliani. Then they killed Charlie Kirk…” As if all these “theys” are the same people. Tribalism is ripping America at the seams. And people are benefitting from the hate and distrust. It’s good for votes, it riles up the base, it sells books. But at what cost?
Malcolm Ivey / Author 
Hi,
I wanted to pop in to say I loved your observation. So accurate. I feel like the country has been divided into “us and them”, with them being pretty much everyone who isn’t a Trump loyalist. It saddens me.
And his increasing tendency to publicly label anyone who doesn’t agree with him as an “enemy” is equally disturbing. It’s damaging for the psyche of the country, and for the first time, I fear for our future.
Thanks,
Carolyn Outhwaite
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I’m not a fan either. But for better or for worse (mostly worse) he’s done a masterful job at branding his opponents. And so far democrats have been caught flat-footed and in reactionary mode. I’m still hoping that some good will come from all of this. That sanity will eventually prevail, that science and expertise will make a comeback, that conspiracy theories will return to late night AM radio and stop dominating the national conversation, that love and kindness and compassion will overcome the dark forces that have labeled them weak and unmanly… It’s not looking good right now but I have faith. Not so much in government, but in humanity. We can figure this out. I hope.
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