It’s time we acknowledged that, despite any high-minded ideas of our civility, we don’t actually want to get along with “those” people. And while we may feel strongly about “them,” unity demands our conscious effort and a hard look in the mirror.

In the book, “The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America,” the authors make a compelling argument that our left/right ideologies have no true essence. They show that our political parties have historically been inconsistent in their politics, having switched sides on issues based on their ability to win elections. Parties use ideology as marketing, and we, in turn, use ideology to justify our partisan loyalties.

Our left/right spectrum has now been overtaken by a more fundamental (and honest) type of politics — the politics of us vs. them. Parties and their political operatives need only sell anger without the sophisticated rationale of ideology.

If Democrats like to think of themselves as the responsible ones, then they can demonstrate that. They should register as Republicans and vote for the candidate who isn’t an “existential” threat. Otherwise, they are only showing that they like their party more than their country. Both parties should do so for this, and future, primaries.

By changing our binary ideology from left vs. right to one of unity vs. tribalism, we will put forward better candidates, not just partisan bomb throwers — politicians who will try harder to be the leaders of all Americans.

Allen Pipkin
South Portland

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