{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgridlock-break.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fdavid-french-on-the-polarization-in-america-omLiCpw0","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"David French on the Polarization in America","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/cb4d83e1-3cce-4e6f-81ee-df856ce85f6e/7e9fa152-b47e-4ed9-b520-4279b8041621/david-french-episode-artat1500x-100.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"David French attorney, political commentator, and author. A fellow at the National Review Institute and a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019, French currently serves as senior editor of The Dispatch, a fact-based digital media company, that endeavors to provide both sides of any given position. In 2020, he published Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. Today, he will discuss the polarization he studies in his book and why short-term solutions seem improbable. \n\nIn a recent article, David French called the political climate a “new fundamentalism.” A fundamentalist, he explains, often has no existential humility or uncertainty, and that’s what we now see in politics. He similarly highlights three recent political trends: The Big Sword - Americans have begun in the last few decades to intentionally live around like-minded neighbors; The Law of Group Polarization - when like-minded people gather, they reinforce those shared opinions to an extreme; Overton Windows - while the Overton Window concept is the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time, there are now two separate windows for either party in the case of many issues. \n\nGo to NoLabels.org to learn more about how we are bringing together a bipartisan group of public and private leaders working to solve America’s toughest problems. \n"}