Oh, the things you never would have expected to see. In the span of merely eight days, our liberal enemies at UNC-Chapel Hill have invited another Republican to speak about the theory that illegal immigrants are secretly plotting the downfall of the American way.
In part, I’m actually not surprised. In this day and age, people seem to be becoming more insular these days — no man is an island, but now certain groups of people bound by a common cause certainly can be that island haven in the metaphorical ocean of society.
Regardless, I’m concerned. We live in an increasingly interconnected global community, where one can communicate instantly with other people on the other side of the world and the only barriers to travel between nations are the ones we create.
The capitalist system Republicans love so much has brought us to this day and age. So why are they also so insistent that we need to build a fence between the United States and Mexico and adopt a foreign policy based on Admiral David Farragut’s famous cry: damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead (to the next American place of interest!)?
In some respects, this isolationist, us-versus-them mentality is an evolution of the way we interact with people. While the internet puts a vast array of information at our fingertips, we don’t really use as much of it as we think. In fact, I fear what Nicholas Kristof observed might come true: the Internet allows us to access information that confirms our existing beliefs.
The sad truth is that we live in a society filled with Stephen Colberts and their stubborn belief in truthiness. Who needs to listen to the facts when the truth is so close to us?
So if there is anything behind a lot of the division and stubbornness in America, it’s what sociologists call homophily — people tend to associate with others who are similar to themselves. And while this is great for making that awesome bunch of friends with whom you pulled many a crazy kegger or pub crawl and took an insane road trip with after graduating, it’s not so great for getting people to sit down and compromise.
What’s the solution for this? If I knew, I’m pretty sure I’d be receiving a Nobel Peace Prize in the next decade — so unless that happens, I have no answers.
However, there are ideas as to why such hard-line isolationism is on the rise. Robert Putnam, the American political scientist best known for coining the idea of “bowling alone,” argues we need to rebuild our civic institutions — with more charity organizations, bowling leagues and local chapters of the Elks. Then, we’ll be on our way to reducing our isolation. And Kristof thinks we need to start making ourselves look at and consider opposing views seriously.
Both ideas have potential for getting America back on the road to being a better neighbor to the international community and more accepting of each other. But both ideas require us to stop bickering and act. I certainly hope we start to put aside our differences and focus on our common goals. But I’m not going to hold my breath.
Oh well. The bigots are now speaking at UNC. If this is an alternate universe, can it please be one where WE are national champions in a major sport?
