If you’ve ever spent more than fifteen minutes on any social media or news platform, you’ve probably encountered “rage bait” content. Misleading headlines, out-of-touch opinions, and nonsensical commentary can be intentionally ridiculous, designed to make viewers click, view, and write scathing rebuttals in the comments section. Like it or not, the more it annoys us, the longer we remember it. This is exactly what the creators of this content want.
Rage baiting is no longer restricted to Instagram Reels and TikTok, however. Political commentators are perhaps the worst offenders, provoking their audiences to righteous outrage. We’ve all experienced this: A voice in the political sphere discredits, debases, and insults those who believe differently, convincing his audience that he is morally and intellectually superior, while his opponents are evil, idiotic, or both.
This has to stop.
A 2023 Pew Research Center study found that 65 percent of American adults find thinking about politics “exhausting,” while another 55 percent stated that thinking about politics makes them angry. Those who were the most politically engaged were the angriest across the board, regardless of political party. And since 2016, both parties have increasingly reported that it is “stressful and frustrating” to discuss politics with those whom they disagree with.
To be sure, there is much to be angry about. I find political debates to be “stressful and frustrating” as well. But when frustration with the convictions of the opposing party turns into anger at individuals—everyday Americans—with whom we disagree, a line has been crossed.
Both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of negatively stereotyping each other, equating one type of person with the whole and thus dehumanizing every member of the opposite party. Democrats seem to regard Republicans as Trump-worshipping, uneducated, fanatically religious, racist hicks. At the same time, Republicans stereotype their opponents as purple-haired, Satan-worshipping, self-righteous snowflakes. None of this is productive.
Stereotypes exist for a reason. Certainly, people of both descriptions do exist. But political news outlets perpetuate these clichés to dehumanize the other side, to make us angry. And it’s working.
In order to heal the stark divisions in our country, we need to approach one another with compassion and understanding. It’s baffling to see how many members of both parties have never taken the time to understand the other point of view and learned to say, “I disagree, but I understand.” This is vital for the future of constructive discourse in our nation.
What many fail to recognize is that someone can be wrong and still have the best of intentions. I firmly believe that the majority of voters in both parties are motivated by concern for the well-being of others, care for the oppressed, and human equality. We may have different definitions of what constitutes “well-being”; we may prioritize different forms of equality. But almost everyone is doing what they think is right.
It’s easy to demonize our rivals, to write them off as twisted and evil. It’s easy to become complacent in our own convictions and decide that we have nothing to learn from the opposition. However, I hold that you can’t truly know what you believe until your views are formidably challenged.
We need to be willing to engage with those with whom we disagree—with friendliness, respect, and an open mind. I speak from experience when I say that I’ve learned far more about my conservative beliefs by engaging with my more liberal peers than I ever have from conservative media outlets.
The media wants us to be angry. It drives up their viewership numbers and keeps us coming back for more, anxiously waiting to hear what terrible thing the other side will do next. It has no incentive to treat its rivals as humans with past experiences and honestly held convictions. But we do. The end of political polarization begins with the individual, with respect and open dialogue. Our country relies on every one of us to treat each other as humans instead of sycophantic, faceless cogs in the political machine.
J.M. Barrie wrote, “Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?” This is what America needs. Begin by assuming the best of intentions, then listen. Be a little kinder than is necessary.
—
Image credit: Pexels
15 comments
15 Comments
John Brett
January 3, 2025, 4:06 pmExcellent. Spot on.
REPLYRepent RI
January 3, 2025, 6:29 pmAssume best intentions for regular folk, and media folks be damned.
REPLYDave
January 3, 2025, 6:40 pmSo well said, great insight and article! I think Ms. Sheuckler is a budding literary giant. Is there a literary rookie award? If so, I nominate this author.
REPLYSebastian Max
January 3, 2025, 7:08 pmI totally disagree. This take ignores the reality,which is that ideology that powers those leftist opinions is unamerican, fundamentally so and there is no "compromise" to be had. How do you think we got here in the first place? By misplaced tolerance of commies right here in this nation. Instead of killing them, or kicking them out, and making it a capital offense to promote or endorse communism and socialism, we tolerated our way to a point where they took over all of the institutions of society. And now we ARE going to have to resort to force, because they are entrenched. So good job…your stupid tolerance fetish will have led to bloodshed and misery….are you pleased with yourself?
REPLYHugh E. Brennan@Sebastian Max
January 4, 2025, 1:06 pm"Where there is recourse to the ballot there is no legitimate recourse to the bullet." A. Lincoln
REPLYSebastian Max@Hugh E. Brennan
January 4, 2025, 3:57 pmAbraham Lincoln was a war criminal (and actual bona fide "racist" and "white supremacist" even though his observations on race are basically accurate it would still meet the standard since he advocated for whites to rule over the blacks), and if he said the quote you reference, a hypocrite. He attacked a sovereign nation, violated his own nation's Constitution, assaulted and terrorized journalists and anyone else who dissented publicly against the war, made proclamations claiming to have authority over a foreign nation, etc.
If Elections were actually fair and legitimate (meaning only eligible citizens are voting, there aren't any shenanigans like our elections always seem to feature), it still might not be any more legitimate than "Mob Rule", which is all democracy by simple majority is.
Color me wholly unimpressed by this quote attributed to the tyrant war criminal Abraham Lincoln that destroyed the concept of political self-determination and caused the deaths of 750,000 Americans and former Americans.
REPLYHinar@Sebastian Max
January 16, 2025, 1:23 amLooks like someone failed US history classs.
REPLYHugh E. Brennan
January 4, 2025, 1:36 pmThere is, I believe, a fundamental flaw in your argument. The gulf between left and right is not due to mutual misunderstanding. Neither position is opaque in its tenets. Writers, pundits, commentators, academics, the politicians themselves communicate the agendas and positions of the two parties relentlessly- as per your introduction- to the point of making us sick.
The gulf between the two positions is due to their incompatibility at each and every fundamental point. I won't presume, in a comment, to hold forth on the roots and beliefs of left vs right. But, there are basics that make the respectful discourse you call for unlikely if not impossible.
The left believes in the perfectibility of the human condition. Their agenda, from reform through revolution, aims to a future of complete human liberation. Anyone who stands in the way of this isn't just mistaken, they're evil. What morality calls for equivocation or compromise with evil? Having eschewed heaven, they would be as gods on earth- munificent and benign. What can be done with one who would bar humanity from its great destiny? They demand their own destruction. That duty is the high morality of the terrible burden borne by the leaders of the left.
On the right, we believe that man is essentially flawed. That life is tragic as taught by the Greeks, or a Valley of Tears as taught by the Christians. Our government's high duty is to constrain the evil that men would do, and to otherwise leave us alone. As free men we'll seek our own heaven. We would gladly have ignored the left if they would but leave us alone, but they can't.
As to the viciousness of the conflict, any honest observer would conclude that the vulgarity, violence, ugliness is by a vast proportion locate or coming from the left side of the discourse.
This has its roots in the fundamental nature of the two sides. The right remains anchored to ideas of right behavior inherited from two thousand years and more of tradition. We just know it's wrong to throw urine at cops and old ladies. We get angry, but we can't imagine burning the flag or tearing down photos of hostage children.
Since the left is saving mankind from destruction and since they don't believe in God, tradition, codes of behavior, civility, any of the detritus of the dying civilization they're trying to replace, they have no thought to be polite, civil, considerate, kind to the Nazis, racists, and fascists- you know, the "haters" on the right.
So, after a long struggle, after enduring every fraud and calumny, every insult and deception, and suffering from discrimination, censorship, lawfare and all the rest, we on the right have had it. The left is like Iran. They just aren't interested in peace with us. Negotiation and compromise are pointless. The other side is dishonest and will break any agreement made once empowered to do so. We are done talking. The election is over. We won, they lost. The dashboard lights are all blinking red. It's time for action.
REPLY