Greg Sargent does a Twitter head shake over a New York Times analysis of “political sectarianism.”
Sectarians, authoritarians, demagogues, oh my. Ireland, the Middle East, South Asia. What intractable problems. “As often, it’s the story of a minority that can’t accept being ruled by its enemy,” writes Nate Cohn.
“The first mention of Republicans as the clearest source of sectarian division: 15 paragraphs in,” Sargent tweets.
Cohn goes on (emphasis mine):
Sectarianism has been so powerful among Republicans in part because they believe they’re at risk of being consigned to minority status. The party has lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections, and conservatives fear that demographic changes promise to further erode their support. And while defeat is part of the game in democracy, it is a lot harder to accept in a sectarian society.
It is not easy to accept being ruled by a hostile, alien rival. It can make “political losses feel like existential threats,” as the authors of the study published in Science put it.
As a result, the minority often poses a challenge to democracy in a sectarian society. It’s the minority who bears the costs, whether material or psychological, of accepting majority rule in a democracy. In the extreme, rule by a hostile, alien group might not feel much different than being subjugated by another nation.
A lot of descriptive and very little prescriptive. It’s not even clear what the purpose of the piece is beside filling column inches.
Come on down to North Carolina and this hostile, alien rival will tell you all about accepting majority rule in a democracy. From experience. Under constant political assault. Without jettisoning democracy. Or the rule of law. Or resorting to violence. During a deadly pandemic.
Even a lefty can do it.