Incivility. Honorable disagreement appears to be the exception rather than the rule. Depending on the day, I have been called a left-winger, a right-winger, a corporate shill, a “sniveling little demon,” and (my personal favorite) “another Jew liar and deceiver [who] writes for Monsatan.” These insults are usually directed at me after I write an article supporting GMOs or vaccines. Of course, I’m hardly the only recipient of such vitriol. Just look at how people talk to each other on cable news or on social media.
Anti-Intellectualism. “Alternative facts” may very well be the term-of-the-decade. Expert opinion has been thoroughly rejected as “elitist.” Scientific consensus has been mocked. And indisputable facts are undermined with conspiracy theories. It is for these reasons that I believe anti-intellectualism is the single biggest threat to modern society. There is a cure, however. It begins by implementing what I call CRRREST Education.
Tribalism. Tribalism is an “us vs. them” mentality, and it has two primary manifestations: (1) Ideological purity, so that any deviation from orthodoxy is considered heretical; and (2) Hypocrisy, because people will accept/condemn behavior that they otherwise would not if the behavior had been done by a person from the other team.
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