Alone, Suburban & Sorted: Part 5, Sameness and Shouting

As discussed in the book The Big Sort Americans have been sorting themselves into communities of like-mindedness. Red communities are growing redder. And blue communities are growing bluer.

But as mentioned in the last post, the migration patterns of Americans are broader than political affiliation. In The Big Sort Bishop and Cushing discuss how Americans are also sorting along racial, educational, religious and immigration lines. White communities grow whiter. Religious communities grow more religious. And so on.

Why should any of this matter?

To answer this question Bishop and Cushing delve into the psychology of group polarization. Group polarization is a well documented psychological phenomenon. Specifically, group polarization is the tendency of groups to act more extreme than individuals. Basically, groups radicalize. This is particularly the case when groups are homogenous, ideologically speaking. As Bishop and Cushing summarize (p. 68, 69):

"Mixed company moderates; like-minded company polarizes. Heterogeneous communities restrain group excesses; homogeneous communities march toward the extremes...Like-minded groups create a kind of self-propelled, self-reinforcing loop."

Once the process of group polarization begins gaining momentum within a community the minority group begins to withdraw from public life and discourse. As the voices around the minority group grow more extreme, shrill and radicalized they opt for silence over getting into fights. And this withdrawal fuels more sorting migration. The minority leaves and the majority group, with nary a dissenting voice to be heard, radicalizes ever further. Bishop and Cushing again summarize (p. 77):

"Nearly sixty years of social psychological research confirms that as political majorities grow within communities, minorities retreat from public life. Majorities have their beliefs reinforced by seeing and hearing their inclinations locally repeated and enhanced. Self-reinforcing majorities grow larger, while isolated and dispirited minorities shrink. Majorities gain confidence in their opinions, which grow more extreme over time. As a result, misunderstanding between Republicans and Democrats grows as they seclude themselves."

Living in West Texas, one of the reddest parts of one of the reddest states, I see this all the time. The Democrats here are almost a shadow community. Political ghosts drifting undetected through their workplaces and churches and neighborhoods. They maintain silence because it's just not worth getting into a fight with a boss, co-worker, family member, or church friend. And, thus, the group polarization dynamic rolls on.

The point of all this is that The Big Sort has consequences. Communities of sameness across America are radicalizing due to living in self-selected echo chambers. As a consequence, political discourse is growing more and more extreme. Listening stops and shouting begins. Just watch TV, this is what American civic discourse has been reduced to. Two communities, in self-imposed exile from each other, are finding each other increasingly alien, strange, and hostile. And as the views polarize in our communities of sameness civic discourse gets reduced to one common tactic:

Who can shout the loudest.

Next Post: A Purple State of Mind