"Is a Middle Way Possible?"

Perhaps it is age, but I have reached a point where the political hatred that rises from both the right and the left is wearing. I yearn for more pleasant times – the path of moderation in Buddhism (photo), or, more relevant to me, the 1984 Presidential campaign commercial of President Reagan: “It’s morning in America!” But, as Thomas Wolfe titled his 1940 novel, “You Can’t Go Home Again.” The past is the past, and we have changed as has the world. Nevertheless, we can hope. 

 

Sydney M. Williams

www.swtotd.blogspot.com

 

Thought of the Day

“Is a Middle Way Possible?”

November 10, 2025

 

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

                                                                                                                                Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)

                                                                                                                                Mother Night. 1962

 

“Facebook does not favor hatred, but hatred favors Facebook.”

                                                                                                                                Said Vaidhyanathan (1966-)

                                                                                                                                Professor of Media Studies, UVA

                                                                                                                                Antisocial Media, 2018

 

“Why can’t you all get along?” What parents have not expressed such concern? What child has not heard those words from their mother or father?

 

At the 1964 Republican National Convention, Senator and Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater famously said: “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Those uncompromising words about liberty are ones with which all lovers of freedom would agree. Nonetheless, political extremism has become diabolical. Democrats have a far-left problem. Republicans have a far-right problem. Both Parties have taken partisanship to new levels on subjects far less compelling than liberty and justice. Polarization has become the norm. Why has this happened?

 

There are many reasons, but two seem especially relevant: social media and early voting. The use of social media has exploded.  It attracts those wishing to amplify and personally benefit from messaging. It attracts militant followers. Social media is unsuitable for a progressive to accept a conservative view point, or for a conservative to understand a progressive. Today, with an estimated 317 million smart phones in the U.S., being an “influencer” can be profitable. There are an estimated 27 million “paid creators” in the United States. Most promote consumer products, but as The Washington Post reported a year ago: “Political campaigns and their surrogates are pouring millions of dollars into social media influencers with scant regulatory oversight or public transparency.” In a May 22, 2025 article for the Center for Democracy & Technology, Isabel Linzer wrote that “...the shift towards political influencers became apparent in 2020 when Michael Bloomberg’s campaign hired meme accounts on Instagram to promote his candidacy and the Trump campaign paid $1.8 million to influencer marketing groups.”

 

According to studies, the average individual spends over two hours a day on social media. And the average American checks their mobile device 159 times a day – or about every nine minutes. Most people confirm their already-arrived-at opinions, so follow or watch those with whom they already agree. They do not search for contrary opinions, nor are they interested in debating ideas. At a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on April 14, 2021, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated: “Social media has become a key amplifier to domestic violent extremism.”

 

Influencers know how to game the system. Are left-wing influencers like Hasan Piker and the Young Turks and right-wing influencers like Nick Fuentes and Candace Owen driven by ideological conviction or self-enrichment? In a recent article in City Journal, writing of despicable comments by Nick Fuentes in his interview with Tucker Carlson, Christopher Rufo wrote: “...he [Fuentes] embraces taboos because doing so drives attention and creates a spectacle in digital media that benefits him.” Millions of dollars are at stake. But that does not justify what Fuentes said, nor make understandable why the Heritage Foundation’s president Kevin Roberts felt it necessary to post a video defending Tucker Carlson’s interview with Fuentes. The election of an anti-Semitic and Socialist Mayor in New York was due largely to left-wing influencers on social media, and to the abdication of responsibility from centrist Democrats in Washington and Albany who fear being replaced by left-wing radicals.  

 

A second reason for this hike in extremism has been, in my opinion, the rising popularity of early voting. In 1992, according to the Census Bureau, seven percent of votes were cast early or by absentee ballot. In 2020, amid COVID, 64.04% of all votes cast were either early or by absentee/mail-in. Absent COVID, in 2024, 60% of registered voters voted early. According to The New York Times, the 2025 mayoral election in New York City saw more than 735,000 votes cast early, out of just over two million votes – the highest early in-person turnout ever for a non-Presidential election in New York State history. Politicians love early voting. They speak at a rally late in the election cycle, get followers pumped-up, and send them off to the polls, with emotion, not reflection, driving their decisions.

 

Extended voting was a characteristic of the early days of our Republic, but that was due to the country’s rural nature, and the difficulty many had in getting to the Courthouse on election day. Nevertheless, there are arguments for early and absentee voting: individuals who travel on election day, less congestion at the polls, improved poll worker performance, and convenience for the voter. But the evidence that early voting increases turnout is less convincing. In 1992, 68.2% of all registered voters voted. In 2020 (when early voting became common due to COVID), it was 67.5%, and in 2024 the comparable number was 65.3 percent. While absentee voting is a necessity, voters should be encouraged to wait until election day and base their decisions on all the news. Keep in mind, a vote once cast cannot be recalled.

 

Given the way in which social media dominates our culture, the popularity of early voting, and the personal animosity that infiltrates our politics, is it possible to find a middle waythrough these dangerous waters? I don’t know, but I hope so. In a nation where freedom of expression is fundamental to our values, we cannot re-bottle the social media genie. But we must find ways of better preparing the electorate. Mainstream media – newspapers, magazines, network and cable TV, radio – have taken sides, mostly favoring the left. Perhaps Jeff Bezos ownership of The Washington Post and Bari Weiss now being in charge of CBS News portends a change? 

 

The late political satirist P.J. O’Rourke saw government as a necessary evil. He titled his 2010 book Don’t Vote: It Just Encourages the Bastards. He saw those who ran for office as either self-serving, incompetent, or both. While I would not go that far, the moral quality of our politicians has been on a downward slope for several decades. As to what will stop this slide toward increased polarization, I suspect lies in education.

 

Left-leaning political indoctrination in high schools and universities has abetted progressives, which in turn has radicalized the right in opposition. Teachers should challenge students to think for themselves, to question convention, to debate ideas, to be tolerant and respectful of those with whom they disagree. With so many on social media, it is only through an un-biased education that an individual can discern a charlatan. 

 

As Americans, we are blessed to live in a free country. We come from myriad backgrounds, races, cultures and religions. But we are all Americans. Despite (or perhaps because of) our diversity, we should be able to get along – to appreciate our differences, and to celebrate what we have in common. If we do, a middle way will open.