Expert: Don’t Encourage Divisive Speech

Election Day may be in the past, but that doesn’t mean the divisive political rhetoric is done.  Both sides of the political isle have asked the other to turn down the temperature on-line and on social media.

Adrienne Evans, head of United Vision for Idaho, says there's been a troubling trend where rhetoric turns many minds into an “us v. them” situation.  And sometimes, that can spill into violence off-line.  Evans says there are ways each of us can stop this cycle, regardless of who started it and what was said. 

"Don't repeat it. Don't repost it. Challenge it. Think about if someone who's being targeted who resembles this group or this identity were to see this, how would they feel? And do you want to be the perpetrator of that?" 

Evans added the drumbeat of divisive rhetoric has been in place in American politics for years. 

"The things that seemed so crazy, if they continue in a daily trickle, they become normalized. And the crazy things that we never, ever thought would have been possible become the new norm." 

Polls show Americans have grown tired of the intensifying language surrounding the election, and politics in general, dating back to last year.  A Pew Research Center poll from 2023 found 90% of respondents often or sometimes feel "exhausted" when thinking about politics.  "Divisive" was the word most respondents used when considering the current state of U.S. politics.

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