While political polarization in the United States is nothing new, the current gap between mainstream ideologies seems insurmountable. A UB professor offers an explanation for a divide that could expand into a dangerous chasm if a different approach is not taken.
“It seems counterintuitive that at a time when we feel we are most interconnected through social media, the internet and other technological tools, we, at the same time, seem to be experiencing extremely high levels of isolation,” David Castillo, Professor of Romance Languages and Literature at the University at Buffalo. He and co-author William Egginton explore the reality in an article for Philosophical Salon. They’ll go into further detail in a forthcoming book “Mediaologies: Reading Reality in the Age of Inflationary Media.”
As Castillo describes, that isolation comes with a high cost to political debate. With any number of enabling websites and social media platforms available that align with a select viewpoint, critical analysis can be avoided. Facts can be ignored.
“It’s very easy to feel entitled to our reality when everything around us tends to confirm our opinions,” Castillo said during an interview with WBFO.
That reality appears to be fueling the improbable rise of some current political trends. Castillo worries that fundamentalism will be embraced.
“The next step, of course if we think we are right and everybody else is wrong, is try to impose our sense of the world on other people.”
As many have discovered during recent political discussions, changing minds is difficult, if not impossible. Facts and analysis won't sway an individual who believes in a philosophy or a candidate, no matter how outrageous or erroneous the claims. Still, Castillo believes there are ways to bridge the divide.
"Part of what we try to do is to find in the same popular culture is examples of different ways in which this discussion can take place," said Castillo, pointing to Stephen Colbert's work on "The Colbert Report." The satirical news magazine was a critical success and earned enough popularity that it was embraced by both major political parties.
“The potential of irony, well deployed, to both show us the ridiculousness of our sense of entitlement and to provide a path towards constructive criticism, is often understated, ” said Castillo, who, like many fans, laments Colbert's switch to network television.
In his new role as Director of the Humanities Institute at the University at Buffalo, Castillo is issuing a call to action to his colleagues.
“What I think is a possible way for the Humanities to intervene is what I call, ‘Humanities to the Rescue,'" Castillo said.
"The idea is actually to take us away from this notion that we have to rescue the Humanities, and to think about, to reflect on, collectively, on what the Humanities can do to rescue our society from the plague--- Anti-Smarts. Denialism. Fundamentalism---the plague of isolationism that is threatening our present and our future."
"I believe that’s a noble cause.”
