As someone who went to a very liberal college, I've seen the effects of this purity culture firsthand. There is a massive pressure to conform to every idea that is seen as progressive, and even having one "wrong" belief can mean being an apostate. Cancellation/excommunication culture has turned many people that would be reliable blue voters into becoming full-blown conservatives.
Of course, this same dynamic exists in conservative circles. Every day conservatives are talking about hunting RINOs, and evangelical Christian purity culture rivals liberal woke culture in the sheer amount of beliefs one must hold to remain part of the tribe.
As always, the desire to belong to a tribe is stronger than the desire to think objectively.
Ditto. Woke politics is basically Evangelical church for the Left. I've sensed that connection very strongly over the last couple of years. Not that it's a new observation.
That makes a lot of sense. I've heard in many places that woke politics functions as a replacement religion because people need to scratch that itch.
And I'm thrilled you mentioned economic anxiety as part of it too. I've thought this for a while. If you went to a 4-year college and did everything you're supposed to do, but the job market sucks and you're buried in student debt, well.... you're pretty pissed. So all that energy has to go somewhere.
What can I say? All humans feel the need to belong to a tribe. Back when we lived as hunters and gatherers, we needed a tribe to be part of, or we would die in the harsh wilderness.
As someone who went to a very liberal college, I've seen the effects of this purity culture firsthand. There is a massive pressure to conform to every idea that is seen as progressive, and even having one "wrong" belief can mean being an apostate. Cancellation/excommunication culture has turned many people that would be reliable blue voters into becoming full-blown conservatives.
Of course, this same dynamic exists in conservative circles. Every day conservatives are talking about hunting RINOs, and evangelical Christian purity culture rivals liberal woke culture in the sheer amount of beliefs one must hold to remain part of the tribe.
As always, the desire to belong to a tribe is stronger than the desire to think objectively.
Ditto. Woke politics is basically Evangelical church for the Left. I've sensed that connection very strongly over the last couple of years. Not that it's a new observation.
I have a piece which may be of interest exploring this and the role New Atheism may have inadvertently played.
https://americandreaming.substack.com/p/did-new-atheism-enable-wokeness
That makes a lot of sense. I've heard in many places that woke politics functions as a replacement religion because people need to scratch that itch.
And I'm thrilled you mentioned economic anxiety as part of it too. I've thought this for a while. If you went to a 4-year college and did everything you're supposed to do, but the job market sucks and you're buried in student debt, well.... you're pretty pissed. So all that energy has to go somewhere.
What can I say? All humans feel the need to belong to a tribe. Back when we lived as hunters and gatherers, we needed a tribe to be part of, or we would die in the harsh wilderness.