It used to be that the Olympics, Football, Baseball, sports, movies, TV would be a cultural glue of sorts that reflected the majority of the population.
Now they are using it to drive wedges by promoting what the majority consider inappropriate behavior. If you speak out your a million types of “BAD”. So people stop talking about these things and become more isolated.
It weakens the general cultural glue. BUT - at least in the US one of our core philosophies has always been independence and self-reliance. They have been trying to weaken that through the welfare state and “it takes a village” etc However, the attacks on the cultural glue have actually created a backlash in people relying more upon themselves to focus on their own pastimes and less on group pastimes. Without realizing it they actually reinforced our independence from the group think.
They will keep trying thinking that the less we have in common the more likely it is we'll come to blows with each other. There is a risk of that, but I don't think they realize how ingrained our self-reliance really is. At least what I think...
Thanks for posting that, Reed.
Good comments and insight.