Modern North American politics is increasingly conducted as if the other side is not an opponent but a threat. Not “wrong,” but illegitimate. Not “mistaken,” but dangerous. Once that framing takes hold, everything downstream gets harder: legislating, compromising, trusting institutions, even sharing a country. There’s a name for this move, and it’s older than social … Continue reading The Friend–Enemy Trap: Schmitt’s Diagnostic, Our Polarization, and the Identity-Politics Fit