Today’s Political Polarization Isn’t as Striking as We Think

Polarize” is a funny word. I hear it all the time, including from my own mouth. The country is polarized. The parties are polarized. President Trump is polarizing. I think that’s true, but I don’t think the word means what people think it means. First, let’s go to the dictionary. Merriam-Webster offers three definitions, the first two scientific and then this: “to break up into opposing factions or groupings, (e.g.) a campaign that polarized the electorate.”