Rise of extremism in our politics should worry us

One of the most amazing but distressing characteristics of today’s national politics, is the growth of extreme partisanship on even the most basic of issues. We are living in an era where on most positions, facts and rationality are generally sacrificed on the altar of deeply held political persuasions. This phenomenon is not peculiar to Kenya. I have watched the political partisanship in America with increasing incredulity. When President Obama took over in 2008, the American economy was tanking, even former “too big to fail” companies, were tumbling like dominos.

The economy was shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs every month. Many of the poor and middle class America were uninsured. Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were fighting senseless wars in Afghanistan and Iran. In six years Obama has overseen the recovery of the American economy, reduced unemployment and many Americans are now insured under Obamacare. America has only a small number of soldiers in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Despite that, if you listened to the Republican candidates, and their supporters in the Bible belt and other ‘red states” you would imagine Obama has been an unmitigated disaster. In the same country, there exist many who swear by Obama and would willingly give him a Burundian third term.

Nearer home in South Africa President Zuma has either been a tragedy or a blessing depending on whom you listen to. Nowhere is this extreme partisanship more clearer than Kenya. Even on basic issues like statistics, we are unable to agree what they mean, or even are!

On issues we get zanier. If one considers public views on the teachers’ strike, many in CORD were recently demanding that the Government obey the court. Its MPs were even willing to impeach the President on that basis. Today, they are completely silent on the clear disobedience of a court order by the teachers. Interestingly, Jubilee, which was very understanding of the government’s failure to obey the court is very clear that the rule of law is not negotiable, Court orders must be obeyed!

In the ongoing clamour for the stepping aside of the CS Devolution, CORD supporters do not see the inconsistency of their position and their earlier stand earlier in the year that the CORD governors cited in the EACC report would not step aside.

Or even that when the former PM’s officers were sacked for alleged corruption, there was no call for the PM to step aside. Or even that one of the Senators most vocal in calling for the CS to step aside has an ongoing court case relating to theft of public funds!

On the Jubilee side, there are vibrant calls for the prosecution of Senator Muthama for incendiary and uncouth remarks. Yet Jubilee appears comfortable when Moses Kuria is alleged to have made provocative remarks. These contradictory positions evidence a clear divide on positions that shift depending on what is politically convenient. Facts matter no more. Objective views were long buried.

What ails us? I am convinced that this extreme partisanship has two major contributors. On the one hand is the social media, is now the principal source of our politico-social opinions. Interestingly studies have shown that most people who tend to regularly contribute on social media platforms hold extreme views. They also tend to generate equally vibrant supporters and opponents. Sooner or later, these extreme views define public opinion.

The other issue is the reality of an incessant hourly news cycle and its natural twin, the extreme pundit. In the recent past, the competition for new angles to news has enhanced the need for pundits who hold extreme views for the conversation to be interesting. The result of these two phenomena is the marginalisation of the objective view and the amplification of the extremist position. What must concern us is that whereas the extremist lot is just a minority; over time they become the basis of major decisions as they increasingly define public opinion. This reality demands a different paradigm for the many of us who believe that the world is not black and white but attuned to shades of grey. How we get our voices heard amidst the din of the extremist must be the next topic in our national conversation.