"The Way Out: How To Overcome Toxic Polarization" by Peter Coleman

Toxic polarization is the division in society that pits neighbor against neighbor and family member against family member when political fervor reaches a fever pitch.It's a time when it's dangerous to be a public official, not just in Washington, but when threats are leveled at officeholders at the local level, said Peter Coleman, author of The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization. A professor of psychology and education at Columbia University, Coleman has been researching the problem since 2000.Reasons for the split include a president who's been in attack mode since first elected in 2016. Coleman said Roger Ailes at Fox News helped orchestrate the division by weaponizing the news channel before Trump ever took office.At the same time, newspapers went into serious decline across the country, the internet changed the way people receive information. The press not only provided local news but helped moderate the climate for communities across America, said Coleman. The loss has been significant, he noted."The internet is an accelerant," said Coleman, noting that now divisive material gets distributed faster and wider than before."In an attention economy, the media has turned angry," said the authorAnother factor is that Americans spend less time in groups than before. Being around people who are different from you builds awareness and tolerance, said Coleman, citing Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, written in 2000, which indicated membership in traditional groups like the PTA, Red Cross, and YMCA has declined.But Coleman still has hope that our polarization isn't permanent. "We've been through eras before when people were at odds with one another," he said.Coleman suggested connecting with people individually is one way to combat the problem. "Walk with a person and talk--not about politics--but about life, about what's going on with family. It's a great way to reconnect," he said.