The state of world politics: a decline in civility.

As a Global Perspectives teacher, I often turn to media debates as sources for my students, allowing them to watch, analyze, and structure their arguments to identify strengths and weaknesses.

Students enjoy watching such heated arguments with contrasting opinions and getting an opportunity to analyse their arguments. Students can learn and unlearn a lot through this activity. Unfortunately, in the past decades the quality of discourse has gone down, where individuals debating prioritize sensationalism over making sense.

A prime example is the ongoing US presidential elections, where the quality of debates on the news channels have been abysmal, may that be Fox, CNN, MSNBC or the famous social media talk shows like Piers Morgan Unfiltered, Mehdi Hasan show and many more.

According to a media statistics report, in the past 15 days, the viewers of these shows have heard words like Hitler and Nazi more than words like immigration, abortion and peace. This tells us about the issues being discussed in these newsroom debates, and this is not limited to the US elections, earlier this year during the Indian Lok Sabha Elections, there was more mention of Pakistan than literacy and hunger during the newsroom debates.

So, why do these highly educated individuals engage in such low-standard dialogue?

-? ? ? ? ? There is a very famous phenomenon in human psychology known as negativity bias which states humans are naturally inclined towards paying more attention to negative comments, insults, and scandalous claims. Democrats call Trump Hitler while Republicans call Kamala Harris mentally impaired, we have seen it happening in India where ad hominem (personal attacks) are thrown from all sides. Politicians intentionally use such degrading language knowing such language will help them gain popularity over constructive discussion.

-? ? ? ? ? Another significant and slightly more worrying reason is the theory of social identity which is used by politicians to gain some support among their existing followers and pull moderate followers towards them. The adoption of the “us vs them” mentality divides individuals into two extreme standpoints. Painting the opponents as fundamentally different and untrustworthy to show them not as a contrarian but as enemies

No one doubts the effectiveness of such arguments as they appeal to the audience at the cost of civility, affability and mannerisms. The challenge occurs when young minds are exposed to such a line of argumentation with the intent of teaching them the art of debating, a forgotten piece of art.

These newsroom debates are not happening in isolation, the comments and issues picked up by the debaters are extended to the classrooms, dining tables and social gatherings where people ponder upon the points and share their inputs.?

Today our society is extremely hostile towards diversity of opinions and that is a sign of concern towards intellect development.?

• Normalizing hostile environment: These arguments on television normalise such behaviour as an acceptable way to handle disagreements. Students rehearse these acts of personal attacks and insults during their classroom debates as they have seen them over television being practised by world leaders.?
• Restricting critical thinking: Hardle we see evidence-based arguments, which is the bedrock of Global Perspective as a subject. Politicians prioritise sensationalism over making sense because sensationalism gives them oversimplified or emotion-driven rhetoric rather than nuanced viewpoints
• Us vs Them mentality: This is the most significant and worrying by-product of ever falling quality of media debates. When politicians use statements which divide a country into us vs them based on inherited traits such as caste, religion, gender, nationality, colour, etc students pick on it and adopt such biases or prejudices which reflect on their behaviour or thinking. That's where a nation comes at risk when its most potent resource i.e. youth is poisoned with such atrocious ideas.

Unfortunately, these arguments are not going away soon, politicians have tasted success based on such low-quality arguments. As teachers, it’s our responsibility towards students to inculcate them with the tools to identify the weaknesses in such arguments and analyze them effectively. We can’t stop them from watching such content, what we can do is empower them with the tools provided to us through Global Perspective.?

As Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, "You can disagree without being disagreeable."

Over here I would like to give a big shoutout to Jubilee media Jubilee Media (https://www.youtube.com/@jubilee) for coming up with such a platform where young people discuss, argue, and debate each other on various topics in a way which is not uncivil. Teachers who are looking for resources for their classrooms should check out their content.?

Calling teachers, mentors, and facilitators! If you're passionate about creating a similar space where our students can engage thoughtfully with one another, tackling today’s pressing issues in a constructive, respectful, and exciting way, let’s connect.?

Let’s brainstorm together to set up a similar platform that encourages the art of argumentation—where young minds can come together, share perspectives, and sharpen their critical thinking skills while enjoying lively, civil discourse.?

Join me in bringing this vision to life!