We are increasingly talking about society’s division, or polarization. In the public sphere, strong likes and dislikes for political parties are boiling over, as are opposing views on various sensitive issues. Although discussion and diversity of opinion are the foundation of democracy, healthy criticism of decisions, actions, or ideas is becoming rarer in the public sphere, while adjective-laden talk about people who make decisions or propose ideas is on the rise.
Topics that allow clear “us” and “them” groups to be identified on emotionally charged issues become wedges in society. At the highest point of tension, different camps begin slapping labels on one another: anti-vaxxers vs. vaxxers, vatniks vs. conservative-lovers, rotten elite vs. peasants, and the like.
Labels are only the tip of the iceberg — many “smaller” topics never reach such a level of tension. Still, in a context saturated with tensions and confrontations, any division of society into two clear groups can become an additional wedge. Especially when one side assumes the role of an all-knowing authority or righteous judge, while the other is left with <…>
Read more: https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/verslo-pozicija/692/2918327/giedre-zurbaite-pensiju-reforma-viesojoje-erdveje-zibalas-i-poliarizacijos-lauza
