It’s telling that Americans can’t even unite in condemning a mass shooting in New Zealand. The issue is still wrapped up in our debate on gun control laws and rhetoric here. We’ve lost the ability to assume good intentions from people across the aisle.
In his new book, Arthur Brooks argues that this type of animosity arises because of our growing contempt for each other.
The president of AEI and Washington Post columnist says we suffer from “motive attribution asymmetry,” which makes Republicans think Democrats are motivated by evil, while their motives are good, and vice versa. The problem is not disagreement, he argues in the New York Times; it’s disdain.
This leads to an outrage that “strokes our own biases while affirming our worst assumptions about those who disagree with us.”
Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt came out this week, and the book arrives at a perfect time.
We say we’re sick of our divided country, but we exploit tragedies to express our hate for the other side. The answer, Brooks argues, is to refuse to voice contempt, and when you face it, respond with levity.
When it comes to tragedy, our response is especially important. Contempt for one another helps nothing, and awful moments such as the shooting Friday give us more reason to unite. The more we look at each other with contempt, the less we see the victims with compassion.
