By Martha Quillen
Courtesy of Citizens United, there’s now a surfeit of cash fueling the spin, pander, deceptive advertising, resentment, indignation, and histrionics that characterize modern campaigning.
But it’s not the money that’s driving Americans insane, it’s the inherent duality in our psyche. We regard ourselves as good and bad, right and wrong, Republicans versus Democrats, and us versus them. And in recent years, we’ve started casting ourselves as warring factions too divided to ever cooperate, like the North and South, and Allies and Axis.
So what’s happening now that there is an unending stream of money, time and ingenuity pouring into politicking? We are losing our collective minds. Look at how we campaign. The object is not to illuminate the issues or present workable solutions, it’s to convince people that they must defeat their enemies.
