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Are modern politics too personalised?

and if so, why? Do we focus too much on individuals at the expense of ideas?
4meAndyou · F
When one party or another can not win with their ideas, all they have left are personal attacks.
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@4meAndyou I don't attack people personally but I can be a bit sassy if they piss me off enough.😇 Personal attacks on the internet don't worry me.
4meAndyou · F
@Burnley123 I'm with you there. We should start a revolution...of politeness. Grit your teeth, be polite at all costs, keep the sass to normal levels, and only block when it is time to go nuclear....🤣
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@4meAndyou LOL. My default mode is polite. Sass is the second level.😂
That is prevalent even here on SW to attack the person rather than evaluate the idea. No different to politics and as you rightly intimate in your other post: 'tribal'!
SW-User
It's why I stopped replying to or wanting to know about politics in general.

Most people I come across aren't interested in having discussions, finding solutions or even agreeing to disagree, they want to win. You cannot reason with these sort of individuals.
goagainsttheflow · 26-30, F
I think it's too personalized in a way that when someone dislikes or insults a politician, supporters of that politician act like they were disliked and insulted, not the politician that was talked about.
kate21 · 26-30, F
yes. like everything else in this country, it's all about personalities. government as reality entertainment, and just like reality tv whoever is biggest asshole gets cast/elected.
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@kate21 Do you think that the media are part of a problem? I'm in the UK but even here I think there is too much emphasis on who and not enough on why.
UndeadPrivateer · 31-35, M
Tribalism is pretty damn prevalent in current politics. It's not always this way, it tends to go in cycles throughout history.
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@UndeadPrivateer Do you think that there is something which creates the cycles or is it just happenchance?
UndeadPrivateer · 31-35, M
@Burnley123 Opportunity. There is great opportunity for the privileged few to gain great power through encouraging tribalistic behaviours, and we as humans are innately wired to be able to take on tribalistic views. Then once it takes root it can be hard to shake and can become a multi-generational issue.
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@UndeadPrivateer Good points. I agree
CountScrofula · 41-45, M
YES. More to follow.
CountScrofula · 41-45, M
@Burnley123 Damnit, I was hoping for extra credit. I'll blather about it later, I'm three hours into my goddamn lawn.
CountScrofula · 41-45, M
@Burnley123 Short of it is that personalized al la carte politics are one of the driving forces behind the current tribalism. When you have access to all of human knowledge, you're gonna seek shit that feeds your confirmation bias.

I wonder if we'd see the same divisinos if we had the same economic forces without the internet though. 🤔
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@CountScrofula I think we would. The Internet just amplifies what is already there. I also think that there is an element of distraction by both sides of the media.

Everything is about the dodgy leader, their judgement and personal attributes. I read in the intercept that most US liberals were against drone strikes under Bush but support them under Obama.

Obama is the suave, urbane, intellectual man of colour. Trump is the angry white grandpa who 'tells it like it is'. Its symbolism as a substitute for real politics.

Also, the tribalised nature allows everyone to play the underdog in the culture war, without looking at deeper politics or economic factors.
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