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BUThe moderates are being silenced…
Polarization isn’t new. America has lived through intense divides before. But as Jonathan Haidt observes, something has changed—not in whether we’re polarized, but in how we respond to it.
It’s not just left vs. right anymore. It’s increasingly about insiders turning on their own, where moderates become targets not for betraying core values, but for expressing hesitation, nuance, or complexity.
In that environment, it becomes harder to ask honest questions. Harder to course-correct. And harder for institutions to function as spaces of learning, progress, and adaptation.
When disagreement is treated as disloyalty, the quiet voices fade. What’s left are those most willing to speak in absolutes.
Haidt describes this as the point when “the institution gets stupid” —not because people are unintelligent, but because the systems around them begin to discourage thinking openly. When fear of backlash outweighs thoughtful judgment, even well-meaning institutions can end up repeating choices they know aren’t working.
#Politics #Democrat #Republican #Moderate #Insight
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