Americans believe the nation is divided on key issues. That’s according polling data from Gallup, released last year. In that survey, 80% of those polled believe Americans “are greatly divided on most important values.” However, one former politician is trying to help Americans and Catholics out of polarization.
“I’m worried about the Republic,” Former Congressman Dan Lipinski told Drew Mariani. Lipinski is a pro-life Democrat who represented Illinois’ 3rd District for 16 years – from 2005 to 2021.
One of the problems Lipinski sees in contemporary political discourse is the tendency for politics to become a “fundamentalist pseudo-religious identity,” causing one to “treat the other side with contempt.” Lipinski cited getting into “political trouble” during President Trump’s first term for seeing a movie at the White House.
Part of the problem with contemporary political governance, as Lipinski sees it, is the lack of deliberation in Congress. “I learned politics as a game of addition,” Lipinski told Drew Mariani, “you need to bring people to you.” Nowadays, though “there’s no real back and forth… And so our country doesn’t work,” he told The Pillar in 2021.
How We Got Here
Lipinski cites several events that accelerated the political divisions of today, including the 2008 Financial Crisis and the Iraq war. Both events transcend pure partisan politics. The financial crisis started during the Bush administration and continued into President Obama’s. And at the time, the Iraq War garnered support from politicians on both sides of the aisle. These events, Lipinski says, coincided with a loss of public trust.
That loss has now been accelerated by the influence of social media and by a decline in religious practice. “Everyone wants meaning in their life,” Lipinski said, “And if they don’t believe in, in God, they’re going look for it somewhere else.”
Overcoming Partisan Divide
Catholics can help bridge partisanship by recognizing their identity. “Every Catholic needs to emphasize…that our identity is in Jesus Christ,” Lipinski said. But in a world that is often hostile to Christianity, that is not always easy. “it may make us uncomfortable at times.” However, Lipinski said, Catholics are not called to be successful, but faithful.
