America’s Greatest Military Strategy
The Battle of Vercellae 1725–29 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Cooperation. Which is the polar opposite noun anyone would use to describe America today. What can we conclude? Our enemies are seeing success. Of course, this success is far (FAR!) from any kind of victory. In the instant of a Russian or Chinese offensive, I have no doubt that not only America, but the entire western world would unite with so much vigor, one is tempted to think that just might be the antidote to our current culture war(but however tempting, it’s a thousand fold, still undesirable). Yet, while there is still much work for our enemies to do, they’re making progress.
The strategy they’re employing is as old as war and, if taken at its most philosophically abstract, as old as time: divide and conquer. Everything is easier to defeat (or accomplish) once divided into manageable parts.
Today, by many measures, America looks as divided and hostile toward itself as it has ever been. At least 60% of Democrats think Republicans are close minded, dishonest, and immoral, while at least 70% of Republicans think the same about Democrats. This is up sharply from, what politically feels like yesterday, just 2016.
There’s no doubt that, as the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has shown, social media has played a pivotal role in creating this hostile environment. Echo chambers have reinforced personal beliefs and created fertile ground for demonization of the ‘other side’, while bolstering political affiliation as an identity more important than simply being American.
All of this is the textbook downfall of a society. One need not look further than the beginning of the word (‘society’) to see the landscape view of our demise. The latin root “soci” — meaning “group” — shows one all they need to know. Almost all that one values about modern life: stable geo politics, indoor plumbing, modern medicine, the internet, unlimited choices of cheap and accessible food, seemingly unlimited tv entertainment, growing sources of free education, and the cornucopia of abundance that arises from all of these things; all depend upon people working cooperatively together: aka a group. And almost all that one fears in life: war, violent crime, theft, poverty, public shame; all arise from people excluding part of humanity from their group in order to demonize and attack it. Not cooperation.
Today it’s harder than ever to be social and associate with fellow members of society. Because our group identities that allow us to cooperate are being chopped down by disagreement. And the institutions that represent our political identities — the parties — are stoking the flames of disagreement as hard as they can. Why? Very simple, they want to win and how better to win when you have people that are so motivated by your movement that they’re willing to march, scream, protest, and even commit violence for your platform. And how better to motivate them to be this way, then fear. There’s no greater security for a vote than one that comes from fear.
I hope I don’t need to explain why social media and traditional media companies benefit from ever increasing amounts of disagreement.
So while each political side is acting in its best interest, their behavior is the greatest military weakness for our nation. In no way shape or form does the content of a political opinion matter if groups can’t cooperate around the flow of ideas. In the same way that the content of a familial disagreement doesn’t matter once everyone has resorted to insanity.
Perhaps put better, what could be better for Russia and China than a country that eats itself from the inside out? I can’t think of a single thing. So in a sense, the greatest thing you can do to create a better world and contribute to America’s military strategy isn’t post or march or protest or analytically criticize; it’s to walk over to someone you disagree with, listen, and try your very hardest to respect them.
