The New Tower of Babel

During the past month, press and pundits alike have been trying to figure out how Donald Trump became President.  They have talked about the differences in America.  They have talked about racism and bigotry in America.  They have been shocked… shocked… that women would vote for him.  They have talked about the divide between coastal progressives and Mid-American conservatives.

All of this talk reminded me of the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel.  In the story, everyone in the world spoke one language.  In their arrogance, they decided they wanted to meet and talk to God.  So they began construction of a huge tower, the Tower of Babel, to reach into the heavens and meet God.  But God wanted no part of this conversation.  He struck down the Tower and cursed the people with the variety of languages we have around the world today.  That way, he figured, they couldn’t communicate with each other to construct another tower.

In modern times, I believe there was another figure who destroyed American communication the same way God destroyed global communication.  His name was Ronald Reagan.  Now, Reagan did many things right as a President.  But I believe his worst sin is when he stopped enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine.  In short, the Fairness Doctrine told broadcasters of public airwaves that they had to present both sides of an argument.  They couldn’t just spout off liberal or conservative positions without a reasoned discussion.

When Reagan crushed the Fairness Doctrine, he unleashed the Titans of Hyperbole we hear today.  It made it possible for the Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks of the world to shout about anything they wanted.  Facts became irrelevant.  Opinion became the new facts.  Instead of reason, you had rage.  Instead of balanced and fair, you had angst and fear.  It started low in the 1990s, but then it started to grow.  Today, you can’t watch any cable news outlet for more than two minutes without some “debate” between two representatives of an issue, many of whom don’t seem to know anything.  The Internet takes it to an even more logical or illogical extreme.

But where we used to have reasoned debate, we have extremism because extreme positions boost web hits and ratings.  More than that, every station and ideology gets to pick and choose how to present a group or position.  If you think police officers are justified in their treatment of minorities, you get content that will make you hate those minorities.  If you think minorities are treated unfairly, you get content that will make you hate police officers.  But at no time and in no way are you allowed, or even forced, to hear the other side of the story.  Context, after all, is bad for ratings.

Reagan set the stage for the divisive and divided America we have today.  Now, it isn’t enough to disagree with someone.  You get to hate them.  You get to be justified in your anger towards them.  You are right.  They are clearly wrong.  The beauty of it is that you never have to see or meet any of them ever again.  You get to hate from a distance, which breeds more hate.  The only thing you have to do is keep watching the content because, as they will tell you subtly and directly, they are your only friend against this threat to your way of life.

But it doesn’t stop there.  Once you are entrenched in your belief, you get to act on it without remorse.  Take a look at all the U.S. House districts.  I challenge you to find districts shaped like squares in urban centers.  Good luck.  They’ve been gerrymandered beyond recognition.  All in the name of “proper representation.”  But some people could see another example of political and social segregation.

So, like the society that tried to build the Tower of Babel, we are a country where the different factions are unwilling or unable to communicate with each other.  We gather in our own little clans that support our position.  We rile each other up about how right we are in our anger and angst.  We live in echo chambers that are hermetically sealed from any sort of outside context.  Then we get to act justified when things go our way and shocked… shocked, I tell you… when things don’t.

If we really wanted to “Make America Great Again,” we would start right there.  We would take responsibility for the divides we’ve caused in our media and our communities and dare people to hear a different side.  We would take time to get to know people we don’t.  Talk to the people you serve and the people who serve you.  Hear about their lives and what they handle daily.  I know this from experience.  When I went to Costa Rica with the Peace Corps, I was convinced that my way of thinking was the worldview.  Then I lived there and met people who viewed things very differently.  My mind was opened in ways that have affected every aspect of my thinking and belief system.

If not, we will continue to live in a society where everyone gets to believe whatever they want and judge accordingly.  That way, we all get to play God and strike down those who dare to want to speak with us.