Mistaken Identity

It used to be said that all politics are local. There was a lot of truth to that, but not anymore. These days it’s far more accurate to say all politics are personal.

Quite frequently I hear people discussing identity politics, lamenting its effects, wishing we could get beyond it as a society. The thing that strikes me most about that talk is how identity is seen as a something of a sideshow, a dimension of our politics that’s sort of like the crazy uncle at our family gatherings. Everyone puts up with him, but wishes he’d shut the hell up.

From my vantage point, identity is no mere dimension of our current politics, it’s pretty much the whole of it. Virtually all politics are now identity politics. Exhibit one in defense of my case is how tribal we’ve become about politics. You used to hear people say all the time that they vote for the person, not the party. Hardly anyone says that anymore and the few who do aren’t acting in accordance with their words. To an extent never before seen…