By the end of our conversation, one truth was unmistakable. America has entered a period where hatred is mainstream, and political violence is no longer unthinkable.
"The numbers were shocking. The implications, worse.
"In a recent conversation on my show News Sight, Patrick Basham laid out findings that expose a political culture edging toward something darker than polarization. His words stayed with me long after our broadcast aired on October 7.
"Basham, the director of the Democracy Institute, has spent decades studying political behavior on both sides of the Atlantic. He is measured, data-driven, and careful with his language. Which is why what he said was so striking.
"Reflecting on the Institute’s fresh polling data, he told me, “It’s a sort of quite terrifying, or at least unnerving, result. Just across the board, such a large minority admit to a pollster that they have hatred in their heart for those who hold opposing political views. But that said, we get to the nub of the issue, which is that a majority of Democrats admit that they hate at least some people who hold opposing views.”
"The choice of words in the poll was deliberate. “We use the word ‘hatred,’ ‘hate,’ because we didn’t want to say ‘dislike’ or ‘strongly disagree.’ That’s just too tame today,” Basham explained. “This poll was taken in the days after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. We wanted to identify how intense the sentiments were. And we were not shocked that a majority of Democrats would acknowledge quite openly that that is how they felt about political opponents.”
"This hatred did not emerge overnight. Basham traced its roots through the Trump era. “It’s probably not shocking when you consider over the last decade what Democratic voters have openly, explicitly, overtly said about Trump and about those who support him,” he said. “A healthy or unhealthy slice of Democratic voters really do view themselves as better people than their Republican peers, and there is a willingness to take that further.” . . .More...
Dr. Joseph Ford Cotto is the creator, host, and producer of News Sight, delivering sharp insights on the news that shapes everyday life. He also provides affordable, results-driven consulting for business, management, media, politics, and the economy. . .
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