The Schoolmarm is a nonpartisan patriot. She snoops around on social media, and coaches citizens and leaders who are inadvertently fueling this country’s debilitating political polarization.
There are many different types of mistakes flagged by the Schoolmarm, but the Schoolmarm avoids criticizing specific beliefs and issue positions. Her focus, rather, is on unnecessarily polarizing, fallacious, and unhelpful language. Which sometimes may feel like partisan criticism, but it is not. To be even-handed, the Schoolmarm tries to flag similar numbers of posts by right-leaning and left-leaning citizens.
The Schoolmarm is not naïve about motives in social media, nor about tribalism, nor about arguments against depolarization. (Some of her relevant essays here.) And she is a fierce free speech advocate. However, the Schoolmarm knows that having saner, more constructive discourse on social media platforms is the first step towards bringing down the temperature so that national problems can actually be solved.
In the internet age, we all have been immersed in polarizing language for so long that it has infected our thinking. Let’s learn together, and rediscover what it means to have democratic discourse!
Users who click on card are taken to this site.
If you are a politician, do not block the Schoolmarm. Judicial rulings have established that such actions violate the Schoolmarm’s First Amendment rights. Blocking also betrays a fear of constructive criticism.
The Schoolmarm is occasionally assisted by her two sisters: Blue Schoolmarm and Red Schoolmarm.
These sisters are more partisan than the Schoolmarm. Blue Schoolmarm is left-of-center, and Red Schoolmarm is right-of-center.
Both are very selective, however, about whose posts they will respond to. They focus exclusively on polarizing posts from partisans on their own side. (This is termed “in-group criticism.”)
Each of them worries about how inflammatory posts paint a distorted picture of their own side, and only serve to anger and energize all of the citizens on the side of the opposition.
The Schoolmarm points out mistakes, but on occasion she also tries to prod disagreeing users into backing up slightly, and clarifying their values. (For example, “@userN, could you just add something about why you feel so strongly about [the argument at hand]?”)
People need reminding that not everyone online has exactly the same values, and explicitly clarifying them leads to more interesting exchanges.
