Fear, Power and Agency: Who and What Drives Societal Divisions?
By Megan McCullough
Words establish relationships.
On Thursday, 10 June, a group of relative strangers gathered in a safe and brave space to discuss the word divisions. With no set agenda or expectations of problem solving, this inaugural session of Word View instead provided a virtual space for people from different backgrounds to sit face to face and be present with one another while discussing what the word divisions evoked for them. Engaging in a form of call and response, the participants both reflected upon, and responded to, one another’s words, stories, and experiences. Below are just a few takeaways from that discussion.
Fear
When does difference turn into division? When fear is added into the mix. Many of us, especially those of us who have been raised in a multi-cultural society, have been taught to celebrate differences. When one travels, learns a new language, tastes a food that one has never experienced before, it is akin to Dorothy Gale opening the farmhouse door and stepping out into the world of Oz in all its glorious technicolor, leaving the blandness of her previously black and white existence behind. Differences expand our world view. However, it is when we allow our differences to box us in, allow a single label or identity to define us that we run the risk of internalizing an us vs. them world view. This flattening of our identity leaves us vulnerable to manipulation by those in power.
Fear is also preventing us from talking to one another. We have become afraid to engage one another in conversation out of fear over the other’s response. For as an acquaintance of mine exclaimed just the other week, “people who were perfectly reasonable four years ago have now fallen off the deep end!” The fear of triggering an explosive response has preemptively silenced us. Our silence is a form of self-preservation. A colleague told me the story of her exchange with a young family member. My colleague had invited her young relative to have a conversation about a divisive topic. The young woman did not want to engage in a call or face-to-face discussion. Instead, they asked if they could chat over text. My colleague feared the request to text was a way to avoid deep conversations and keep a record of their conversation to share with others and maybe even publicly challenge or shame my colleague. Many such opportunities to have a meaningful conversation have been lost by communication channels that cannot communicate emotion, intention or meaning – complex and nuanced conversations are outdated.
Power
It is important for us to recognize and remember that certain groups use divisions to serve their own interests and to both gain and maintain power. We see this all the time with political leaders, especially those who adhere to populist and nationalist ideologies. For while former President Donald Trump is not solely to blame for the heightened political and racial divisions that the United States has experienced over the last four years, he unequivocally utilized divisive rhetoric to fuel his nationalist, nativist, and populist political agenda. And Trump is by no means an anomaly. One has only to look towards Modi’s India, or Orbán’s Hungary to witness the effects of us vs. them nationalism. And yet, as one participant reminded me, the political process is, in and of itself, a means of peacefully reconciling societal divisions. Is identity-based conflict then a failure, or a result of politics? I believe the answer depends upon context. Context, nuance, deep analysis—all concepts that our society has seemingly abandoned in favor of the 280-character tweet.
Agency
What would individual agency look like when it comes to stopping divisions? For while we recognize that powerful groups use divisions to serve their own interests, we, as individuals, have the power to make our own choices. We are not as helpless as we think we are. It is up to us to reclaim our power. Agency requires us to stand up for what we believe in. It requires courage—the courage to overcome the silencing effect of fear.
Last Thursday, a group of strangers came together to interweave their words, ideas, and emotions into a single narratological tapestry. The result: by the end of the night, this group of strangers had taken a small step towards building a community.