Solidarity in Separation

By George Hunt

No doubt every article you have read over the past month has started out saying something along the lines of “these are unprecedented times” and for good reason, these indeed are unprecedented times. Not only are we facing a worldwide pandemic, a possible economic depression on the horizon, and self-isolation measures, but this is happening amid a political climate that is also rather unprecedented. Political polarization is at an all-time high in America with some political analysts saying that we have never been this divided since the civil war. It is a topic being discussed everywhere in the political world, you have likely heard the conversations on your favorite podcasts or seen the literature such as Vox editor at large, Ezra Klein’s new book, Why We’re Polarized. In this time of both divisive antagonism and fear of non-human threats, how are we as citizens reacting?

We have all seen the videos and read the stories of absurd and deplorable actions being committed by people around the world such as fist fights over shopping carts, hoarding enough toilet paper to supply an army, stealing grocery deliveries from people’s front porches, and racial discrimination against Asians rising quickly. Don’t be dismayed though! Even though crises bring out the worst in some people, rest easy knowing that they are the minority. History shows us that in times of crisis people tend to put aside differences and come together in solidarity. When the attack on the World Trade Center occurred on September 11, 2001, Americans everywhere put aside their differences and came together as citizens of the same nation, countless volunteers arose to provide aid to victims, family members, and service workers who were affected by the tragedy. In an article on ideas.ted.com, Rutger Bregman brings to light the over 700 case studies done by the University of Delaware’s Disaster Research Center since 1963 showing that in times of disaster, it is more normal for a majority of people to be calm and help one another. He notes that the results are the same in every case, “’Whatever the extent of the looting,’ one sociologist notes, ‘it always pales in significance to the widespread altruism that leads to free and massive giving and sharing of goods and services.”’[1] History seems to show us that in almost every crisis, citizens band together in solidarity to help one another.

My question following this idea of being brought together by disaster is how does this affect our political climate? As I mentioned above, we live in a time of extreme political polarization that seems to have seeped into every aspect of our lives, it has gotten to a point where at times it feels impossible to get along with people who don’t share your political views. Looking back to 9/11, Gallup’s Presidential Job Approval Center[2] shows George W. Bush’s approval rating skyrocketing from 51% to 90% immediately following the World Trade Center attacks. This is what political scientists refer to as a “rally around the flag effect,” where people, in the face of danger, put their hope and faith in the leaders even if they never approved of them before. We can see similar rally around the flag effects at the dawn of the World Wars. Despite this enormous boost in approval for Bush, it steadily declined over the remainder of his first term and by the end of his second, his approval ratings were in the mid-30’s.

When looking at his overall job in office and the trends of his approval ratings, it seems that President Bush was able to narrowly win his second term in 2004 still riding on the fumes of support following his quick, decisive reaction to the attack on American soil. As time wore on, the rally around the flag effect wore off and people became disillusioned when faced with a POTUS who largely blundered every decision he made in office. Because of the dissatisfaction with the Bush administration, it was no surprise when Obama won the White House in 2008, citizens are usually more than ready for a change of pace after one party fails to deliver. In looking at our current election cycle, many political scientists have been convinced that despite his massive unpopularity, Trump is likely to win the 2020 general election because Democrats can’t stop bickering and work together.

With the Coronavirus pandemic, Trump’s approval ratings have risen to the highest they’ve ever been (which to be fair is still only 49%), and we are seeing another, albeit smaller, rally around the flag effect take place. Citizens, many of whom still do not like Trump at all, are beginning to look to him more to get us out of this health and financial crisis. In the current polls, Biden is leading over Trump but not by much,[3] will the current crisis and rally around the flag effect be enough to securely give Trump a second term? Or will Democrats be able to put aside their differences in a combined effort to vote him out? I do not have an answer but am very interested in seeing how it plays out. Many factors can and will contribute to the election in November, for now let’s all just see what happens, wash your hands, stay six feet apart from each other, and practice a little humanity and solidarity and help one another in any way we can.

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[1] Rutgers Bregman, “Disasters and Crises Bring Out the Best in Us,” Ideas.TED.com, Mar. 20, 2020, https://ideas.ted.com/disasters-and-crises-bring-out-the-best-in-us/

[2] https://news.gallup.com/interactives/185273/presidential-job-approval-center.aspx

[3] https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_biden-6247.html#polls

Bregman, Rutger. “Disasters and Crises Bring Out the Best in Us.” ideas.ted.com. March 20, 2020. https://ideas.ted.com/disasters-and-crises-bring-out-the-best-in-us/.

Gallup Presidential Job Approval Center. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/interactives/185273/presidential-job-approval-center.aspx. General Election 2020 Polls. RealClearPolitics. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_biden-6247.html#polls.