Navigating the perils of polarization by Torben Bergland
Torben Bergland, M.D., is a psychiatrist and an associate director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department.
“I just want to be an ordinary person!” Those were the emphatic words of my four-year-old niece. We, her uncles, a theologian and a medical doctor, were asking about her aspirations. We were stunned. Don’t you want to be something special, exceptional, best at something? Shouldn’t you at least try to be better than your peers? Just ordinary—that’s so devoid of narcissism!
Extremism becoming mainstream
Dear niece, our world seems to be moving away from the ordinary fast. Polarization is everywhere, especially in politics and religion, at a baffling speed and intensity. Moderates who used to contribute stability through willingness to dialog, negotiate, and compromise responsibly and respectfully, are becoming rare. What used to be fringe and extreme is becoming mainstream with strong opposing currents to be swept up by carrying us away from one another. So far that though we occupy the same space, we are not living in the same reality.
Becoming an extremist may sound like something that requires intentionality and hard work, but it comes rather naturally. Many effortlessly drift into extremism, and when caught up in a current, it may take them very far. As they drift away and any opposing current weakens, they typically become more dedicated and zealous. The purer and more undiluted your current is, the faster and deeper you’ll be carried into extremism. Staying out of extremism is what requires intentionality and effort!
What extremists are
There are many kinds of extremists, but they are surprisingly similar. They may differ wildly in their beliefs and practices, but how they feel, think, operate, and relate to others and their needs and motivations, are much the same. Beneath the surface, you’ll often find a desire to affirm a sense of superiority or escape from a sense of inferiority. These are typical manifestations of narcissism.
Extremists do not recognize how ordinary we all are and that we can have community despite our differences. They typically see others as inferior to themselves and diversity as a threat to their existence.
Life as an extremist
Becoming an extremist is easy, but living as one is hard. They so narrowly define how everybody should think and act that nobody is capable of complying perfectly. In the discrepancy between what they proclaim, pretend to be, and what they indeed are, there is worry and stress about being found out and lying to themselves and others to cover up the gap. They partially deny any guilt and shame they feel for being “fake.” The rest they project on others. They may consistently, without evidence, accuse others especially the ones they define as enemies, of the “sins” they themselves are guilty of. When encountering an extremist obsessed about some sin or fault in others, I wonder what they themselves are fighting or covering up. Though they are typically critical and harsh toward anyone, they are sometimes incredibly tolerant of evils committed by their allies.
Dear niece, as you probably have realized by now, psychologically, morally, and relationally, the lives of extremists are quite messy. Being “ordinary” is the best way to go if you want peace, happiness, and genuine love.
Becoming an extremist is easy, but living as one is hard.
Torben Bergland
Extremism Self-Test
If you want to see how you “extreme” you are, try the extremism self-test.
Use it to see how you measure up. These are the attitudes, convictions, and behaviors you need to cultivate if you are going to become a genuine extremist. Remember, supremacy is what you’re really after. The ideology is secondary, a means to gain and portray supremacy. With extremists, sometimes the only visible ideology is “Self.” But, of course, you should make it appear as if ideology is what it’s all about. That was Lucifer’s strategy in heaven, and it still works surprisingly well.
You should start with the characteristics listed first and then build step by step. Unless you have laid a firm foundation by taking the initial steps toward extremism, you probably won’t master the advanced ones. But, as I’ve said already, many of these traits come quite naturally to us as human beings. The more you have of them, the easier it will be to develop the others.
Extremism Self-Test*
Yes
No
Us-versus-Them Mentality: Do you often think in terms of “us” (people who are like you and share your beliefs) versus “them” (people who are unlike you and do not share your beliefs)?
Recruitment: Are you actively seeking to spread your views, beliefs, and practices with the intent of making others adopt them?
Certainty: Do you prefer clarity over nuance, quickly form firm opinions and beliefs about most things in life, and feel confident about categorizing them as either good or bad, right or wrong?
Confirmation bias: Do you primarily get information from sources that support and reinforce your beliefs, or those of your group?
Dogmatism: Do you believe your views and beliefs, or those of your group, are absolutely and unquestionably true?
Isolationism: Do you avoid and dissuade interacting with or listening to people or sources who have different beliefs and practices than you or your group?
Supremacy Thinking: Do you believe you or your group are better than others because of what you are, do, or believe?
Enemy Identification: Do you have a clear understanding of who inside or outside your group you can trust, and who is a threat against your interests, beliefs, and existence?
Conspiracy Mindset: Do you believe certain people, groups, or institutions are secretly and maliciously plotting against you, your group, or others?
Propaganda: Do you strategically disseminate information about you and your group with the intent of promoting your interests rather than accurately and truthfully representing a nuanced reality?
Obscurantism: Do you ignore, dismiss, hide, or attack information that refutes your beliefs or critiques your actions?
Dehumanization: Do you consider those who differ significantly from you or your group to be of inferior ability and worth, or inherently evil?
Gaslighting: Do you strategically seek to make people distrust their senses, reason, and memories if these contradict the version of reality you prefer them to have and believe in?
Authoritarianism: If you have the power, are you willing to impose your will against the interests and freedoms of those who differ significantly from you in traits, beliefs, or practices?
Scoring (total)
Interpretation 2 or less “Yes”: Low risk; likely to tolerate diverse viewpoints and perspectives. 3-4 “Yes”: Moderate risk; consider reflecting on the balance and openness in your beliefs and interactions. 5-7 “Yes”: High risk; significant potential for extremist tendencies. Reflect deeply and consider seeking diverse perspectives or professional guidance. 8 or more “Yes”: Very high risk; strong indications of extremist thinking. It is crucial to seek professional help and engage with a broader range of viewpoints.
What extremism leads to
History teaches us of the outcomes of extremism. Extremists, political or religious, grow fruits on the same old tree. Ultimately, they rot as they ripen. What Paul called “works of the flesh” (Gal 5:19 ESV) are commonly seen in extremists: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal 5:19-21 ESV). Since there are many kinds of extremists, you’re unlikely to find every sin represented in every extremist, but as it ripens, extremism seldom fails to reveal its sins. Jesus said that “a bad tree bears bad fruit … nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matt 7:17-18 NKJV). If the fruits are bad, we know that the tree is bad.
What being ordinary leads to
Dear niece, if you stick to being ordinary and stay humble and honest, the Spirit may be with and in you. Then, your fruits will grow on a different tree. In Galatians, Paul listed the fruits from the Spirit’s tree: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23 ESV). I’m joyful as I see these good fruits growing in your life more than a decade after that “I just want to be an ordinary person”-conversation.
Prevention of extremism
And, dear reader, if you have lost your appetite for extremism and want to prevent it in yourself and your group, then listen to the counsel of the Spirit: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Phil 2:3 NKJV). What Paul urges here opposes any extremist’s supremacy mindset. There is no supremacy of gender, race, nation, religion, or anything. One human being is never entitled to assert supremacy over another.
Christ came as the servant of all, not the ruler. When the disciples argued about who was the greatest, He rebuked them, saying: “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27 NKJV). He who was above us took a position below us so He could be with us as one of us. That was the incarnation. “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being” (Phil 2:5-7 NLT).
How different from Lucifer, who said, “I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High” (Isa 14:13 NLT). But the fate of the devil will be the fate of every supremacist: “Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths” (Isa 14:14 NLT).
If you want to be an extremist, be like the devil. If you want to be like Christ, let extremism be far from you. Before God, we are all the same. There is no one or nothing supreme except God; therefore, there’s no justification for extremism.
*This self-test has been peer-reviewed but has not been scientifically validated.
