the big sort

i always enjoy the time on a plane if i have a good book i'm really into. on the flight out this time, i finished "the big sort: why the clustering of like minded america is tearing us apart" by bill bishop. this is one of the most interesting and thought provoking books i've read in a while. (but then, sorry scott, i actually liked freakenomics)

i'm always limited by time in most everything i do, and these blog posts are certainly no exception. there's only enough time to tap out a smidge of what's running through your head about an idea, and then there's real life to take care of. the unexaminded life is not worth living, but examining life takes more time than living it, so the math really doesn't work out very well. we end up examining a sample of our lives, not the whole thing. we just differ person to person on our sampling rates. some of us reach some threshold to be considered "introspective"

he points out that americans, among "developed" nations, actually are somewhat above average in our desire to talk about politics, according to studies. we are quite reticent, however, to talk about our political views with people who disagree with us. we only want to talk politics with "us" rather than them.

this is reflective of everything, not just politics. we are a people who avoid not only conflict, but difference. there are, of course, prominent examples, like our very diverse workplaces, where economic incentive drives us to leave that behind, so if you wish to argue the point, you can find plenty of ammunition. but the statistics of how we vote, what we buy, where we go (or don't go) to church, and where we live, speak pretty loudly. you can argue some about the why, about the interpretation, but not the what.

it's actually very reminiscent of the reformation. there is a shift in identity from an inclusive ("catholic" pretty much means "universal"), to the particular. once the identity shifts, the "other" becomes the enemy.

i think that's why we are becoming increasingly polarized. we have, as a nation, ceased to identify first as americans, but rather have redefined real americans as people like us.

The national savior

I voted today.

Despite fears and horror stories of how long the wait would be, my wife and i went to the polls and cast our votes. It really wasn't that long, actually, and it was nice to have a brief moment to talk. Afterward, we stopped by the nearby coffee shop, where the line was longer than the polls, because apparently, it was all the same people, and it takes longer for each person to get a latte than to influence the course of their government.

The coffee shop had a different attitude today than other times i've been. I am not an infrequent customer there. My position with LSU is half research, and since the destruction of much of our infrastructure, the faculty are spread accross many hospitals and campuses around the city. This particular coffee house is near the Tulane campus, and has free wireless internet, so it's not a bad place to meet people if you need a place with good parking and internet access.

So this morning, I'd voted, and i'd grabbed a post-vote cup of coffee with my wife, and then was waiting for the Tulane faculty member i was to meet there and the two research assistants who were helping us, because it was a central location for the 4 of us. In the interval between her leaving, and their arrival, a middle aged gentleman walked up, put his cup on the table next to me, and launched into a lecture about my use of four chairs, "I can't believe people like you! Taking up two tables and four chairs like you own the place!" He added more and then turned on his heel and marched out.

Mind you, there were still plenty of open seats and tables, but that's all beside the point. It just struck me that i can't imagine that happening there on any other day. Somehow that had to do with voting day. A day where we are fired up about our own and other peoples opinions, and somehow feel like there's a value in declaring them.

It's only true to a point. There's that old truism about opinions....