The Radical Middle: Finding Harmony in a Polarized World
As a Gen-Xer who went to high school in Long Beach, California, in the early nineties, my friends and I often discussed cultural and political issues. We were diverse ethnically, economically, and spiritually, just like our international port town, one of the most diverse cities in the nation. We supported each other, and we talked for hours in person and on landlines. But above all, we didn’t take ourselves too seriously. We were free range teens who had a lot of fun.
Music was at the center of this, and we were definitely products of a certain place in time. Sublime and Suburban Rhythm played backyard parties, and clubs like Bogart's, Toe Jam, and The Foothill were vestiges of punk, ska punk, and rockabilly. We listened to music that defied neat categories – Fishbone, Bad Brains, Primus, Tribe Called Quest, Lenny Kravitz, The Brand New Heavies, and so much more – like our views and conversations. Music was our therapist and how we learned about pretty much everything that mattered.
I first discovered many seminal artists through song sampling and liner notes, like Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone from De La Soul. One curiosity led to another, as I explored different sounds and viewpoints. If I had parked myself in one genre or wasn’t curious about musical influences, life would have felt rather boring and naive. Instead, I peeled the musical onion and learned a little bit here and there about different cultures, regions, instruments, and political empowerment – including in Ireland (I’m half Irish) and the supportive political connection between the Irish and Black Americans. Ignoring history and context from music removes its essence. The same can be said when we do that to people and political issues.
All week, I have been thinking deeply and separately about both music and politics. This morning, I woke up from a dream where the two thought streams had merged. On my afternoon walk, I reflected on how music and politics have shaped my life, especially during my teenage years. In deciding to share my thoughts, I’m, as usual, writing this spontaneously in between deadlines. So if this reads more like bebop than smooth jazz – improvised only a few hours ago with a few disparate chord changes – hopefully it ties together harmoniously by the end.
From Punk Rock to The Pause – And How Social Media is Like Dating Apps for News
To this day, I like my news like I like my music – honest, diverse, and shrewd. In high school, this sounded like Angelo Moore screaming “Subliminal Fascism” in Fishbone’s most hardcore song, Morrissey’s critique of the pharmaceutical medical establishment in “Interesting Drug” alongside an upbeat melody, Lenny Kravitz’s “Cab Driver” about racial profiling accompanied by an energetic bass line, and Chet Baker singing sad love songs. The ironies and subversiveness made my friends and I think critically and question more, instead of fall into neat political camps. One of the most punk rock artists to me is Ice Cube, because he still thinks for himself and sees root causes most people don’t.
The multicultural, cross-genre music-listening, live-show and MTV-watching youth that my peers and I experienced feels like a different reality than today’s social media-centric culture. I’m grateful our brains and freedoms were protected from that growing up. And, although it’s a tall order, I’m hopeful we Americans will choose to change our tune around how we engage online. The social media discourse following last week’s string of violent events showed that we have to.
Social media has completely reshaped the foundation of how we learn about each other. Society today is predominantly sedentary, indoors, and screen-addicted, and it’s often through social media that we connect with (and disconnect from) others. It’s also how many people get their news.
When it comes to learning about other people, especially those we think we dislike, this often looks like gleaning surface information, slapping on a label, and calling it a day – sort of like a dating app where you swipe left or right after forming a quick opinion before meeting someone, let alone getting to know them deeply. Social media often facilitates the conclusion of conversations before they even begin.
In terms of news dissemination, it’s undeniable that social media often amplifies close-mindedness and societal division. It deepens misunderstanding, cements biases, and solidifies echo chambers. Platforms expand group think and minimize critical thinking. They reward judgment over curiosity, reaction over pause, extremes over nuance, and perpetuate smugness and intolerance. It's incredibly easy to fall prey to these silos, especially when emotions are high. The sad and disturbing news stories from the past week put this on blast.
Unfortunately, this division is intentional. Like television and other forms of mass media, social media is used by governments, corporations, and philanthrocapitalists for propaganda, narrative control, and distraction. Stories and messages are designed to provoke outrage, simplify complex issues, and keep us focused on fighting each other rather than seeing the bigger picture. We’re fed the most extreme views, not how the majority of Americans think or feel, programming to make us believe this comprises the other half of the country. It does not.
Most Americans don’t fit into the categories of ‘right’ and ‘left.’ More importantly, we have much more in common with each other than we do with the political and economic powers that are successfully siphoning us into these political tribes and feeding us narratives to dismiss and disassociate from each other. As we the people suffer, the forces who bankroll this division profit no matter who is elected.
Political and corporate interests have long benefited from media manipulation, wars, resource control, prisons, poverty, illness, and so many other issues that plague people around the nation and world regardless of political affiliations. It's a tried-and-true tactic to have us point fingers at each other instead of at them. And we keep falling prey to it. Dismantling this is at the core of a safer and more loving nation. It's something many liberals and conservatives already preach to their followers (whether through messages like ‘corporations are evil’ or ‘America first’). But talk is cheap if it’s not followed with partisan-free action.
Some of the profiteers are hiding in plain sight, while others are covert. Far from conspiracy or speculation, this is money and power on full display. And it has a playbook. We can even read about some of the tactics in best-selling books by individuals highly regarded across political lines.
It's hard to know how we’re being played when we don’t know the playbook. One tactic is to use specific terms to keep either liberals or conservatives in the dark about an issue, even when it harms that very group the most. It’s a patterned strategy of rebranding universal issues to diminish support and investigation, sometimes leading to outright contempt. Another tactic is to associate a widespread issue with a few people that one ‘side’ hates, thereby making the issue seem partisan.
Beating the Drum of Common Ground
Until we come together, we’ll continue to fight each other instead of the corporate and political powers profiting from our division. The reason I keep talking about common ground is because it's the foundational solution behind everything else we care about.
And we care about the same, basic things. Although we have our differences, we have much more in common than we do different. We want to feed our families, afford a place to live, have peace and safety in our neighborhood, and be healthy. Thankfully, examples of people coming together to achieve these outcomes are everywhere. We need to hear more of these in the media.
Social media can, of course, be used as a tool to unite and spread these positive messages. In addition to sharing photos with our friends and family and providing a virtual memorial space when loved ones pass on, social media allows us to share personal stories to uplift others, disseminate constructive news, and raise awareness and money for important causes. It’s a tool at our disposal that can definitely spread love, healing, and cooperation. We get to choose how we use it.
First and foremost, we have to stop letting media separate us. It’s easy to retreat into silos, consuming information that reinforces what we already think we know. But absorbing and circulating divisive news feeds cultural polarization.
Secondly, we’d be wise to replace our negative news intake with constructive alternatives. Real growth and communal understanding happens through listening – to people with opposing views or a full interview we wouldn’t normally watch – and doing this regularly while checking our own assumptions and biases along the way. These moments have the power to help uncover patterns, histories, and perspectives that are often hidden behind distraction tactics.
Connected to this, we need to follow the money behind the issues and institutions we most care about, especially on our ‘side of the aisle.’ If everyone spent an hour a week learning more about who owns, funds, and controls media companies, politicians, industries, and resources (like land), instead of watching TV ‘news,’ things would start to shift.
Fourth, we should learn and share positive stories about effective bridge-building and communal empowerment. There are many of them.
Learning more about each other, including our shared experiences, reveals where we have common ground. This helps us engage more thoughtfully in our communities by focusing our actions on harmonizing solutions that actually move the needle. Breaking out of our silos makes the world more peaceful.
What did I leave out? Share it with me. This is a give-and-take conversation. (Feel free to share new music, too.)
Regarding my friends from high school I mentioned at the outset – we’re still close, we still learn from each other, and we still love each other. Some of us are political independents, a few are Republicans or Democrats, and others are members of third parties. Our musical tastes are still diverse but each with their own slant. We don’t care about our differences and we also recognize they make us stronger. One of my friends refers to us as the “radical middle,” because we believe in pragmatism, populism, and dialogue, among other things that benefit the masses. That this is more ‘radical’ than finger-pointing these days speaks volumes.
I value, too, the other close friends I’ve made along the way, who are also from a variety of backgrounds and more interested in learning than being right. We share information and sources with each other that, like liner notes, lead to additional layers of new understanding. We show each other grace, because we know the goal isn’t perfection but effort and growth. And the musicians we love – Ray Charles, Mos Def (Yasin Bey), Tom Waits, Tinariwen, The Pogues, Kendrick Lamar, Dengue Fever, Mulatu Astatke, Billy Strings, Beachwood Sparks, and so many more, especially our friends’ bands – are diverse as America.
While music from the nineties seemed more genre-bending overall, mixing influences in ways that reflected a world open to cross-pollination of ideas and styles, and music and society today feels more siloed, there are always exceptions and the same principles hold: connection, resonance, and curiosity are transformative. Listening deeply to a song outside our usual preferences, just like listening closely to a perspective outside our usual circle, can expand our minds and hearts in ways that echo far beyond the moment. In both music and society, the more we embrace nuance, the richer our collective experience becomes.
Music is life. Not only does it teach us about others, it connects us to something much bigger than ourselves. Sound frequencies literally change our brains and find resonance in our hearts. They can evoke wonder. Imagine if this sense of wonder is how we approached other people.
It’s time for us to make new music together. Will you join me?
Amen and spot on!!!!
well done. April. As a young Baby Boomer, I agree 100%