As this election year begins to unfold, Americans aren’t merely arguing about politics. It’s increasingly clear they can’t even agree on what they’re arguing about.
You want to debate political violence? People on the left think instantly of the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. People on the right counter with the 2020 George Floyd summer of unrest.
Refusal to accept election results? On the left, that’s clearly a reference to former President Donald Trump’s false claims the 2020 election was stolen from him. On the right, it might be a reference to Democrats’ attempts to oust Mr. Trump from office after 2016, or Democrat Stacey Abrams ’ refusal to concede her loss in Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election.
Dangerous social trends? On the left, that’s a reference to rising racism and anti-Semitism, and antivaccination trolling. On the right, it’s about woke and cancel cultures run rampant, and vaccine mandates.
Scoops, analysis and insights driving Washington from the WSJ's D.C. bureau.
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In short, people are talking past one another. It isn’t happening only in Washington, or in political circles, but increasingly within communities and even within families.
Worse yet, people with differing views today don’t merely disagree; often, they can’t even comprehend how those on the other side could possibly think the way they do. Polls, focus groups, conversations with voters and communications with readers all confirm the trend.
Yet,...
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