'We have to stop enjoying our hate so much'

U.S. flags in Statuary Hall at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2024

(Image credit: Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images)

published 31 May 2024

'We are starting to enjoy hatred'

Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal

Americans have been divided for a long time, says Peggy Noonan. The "political polarization" has been a source of distress. People have lamented the increasing "harshness of our political discourse" and the "outrageous and dehumanizing things" both the left and the right say about each other. But we're entering a new stage where the two sides "enjoy looking down" on each other. "Nobody's trying to win anybody over." We can't go on like this forever.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.