• Hi, I’m Brad Abare

  I'm a make-it-happen guy working with big idea people. I design teams and orchestrate strategy so that great ideas I believe in get done.
  
  I am Jamaica's husband, Foursquare's comm director, Personality's founder, and a catalyst for CFCC.
  
  
• Search for:

• Archives (by category)

  Select Category Abare News Big Ideal Brad Works God, Faith & Spirituality Hot Topic Inspiration Leadership Life’s Journey Media Politics Rant Reading Room Stuff I Like The City Wisdom

• Archives (by month)

  Select Month March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 October 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003

• Recent Comments

  • liz on Ahead of the Curve
  • Ben Eige on Managers, Ministers, Manipulators
  • Joshua Cody on Self-Sacrifice Always Wins
  • abby on Unity to Begin, Not End
  • Bernie on What Business Are You In?

• Subscribe

  Add my RSS feed to your reader.

It took me way too long to get through Bill Bishop’s book, but The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart was worth the read. It’s a very dry book loaded with research. That combination alone is enough to scare me away, but the title pulled me in and wouldn’t let go.

“Over the past thirty years, the Unites States has been sorting itself, sifting at the most microscopic levels of society…”

This is not good.

Three major themes frame the book: politics of the Big Sort, economics of the Big Sort, and religion of the Big Sort. “Freed from want and worry, people [are] reordering their lives around their values, their tastes, and their beliefs.”

You can read the author’s website for reviews and excerpts, including Bill Clinton’s endorsement for the book. For the purpose of this blog, I’ll simply reference my major highlights.

Politics
“In 1976, less than a quarter of Americans lived in places where the presidential election was a landslide. By 2004, nearly half of all voters lived in landslide counties.”

“Over the past fifty years, political scientists have proved that homogeneous communities become self-propelled engines of partisanship, squelching dissent and emboldening majorities.”

“In fact, exposure to a wide array of views increases tolerance. But Americans are increasingly unlikely to find themselves in mixed political company.”

The most bi-partisan period in the history of modern Congress was roughly from 1948 to the mid 1960s. “In Congress, members visited, talked across party boundaries. They hung out at the gym, socialized at receptions, and formed friendships that had nothing to do with party or ideology.”

“Congress has been most productive when both parties have been ideologically mixed and when the members have soothed political differences with social grace.”

“People were siding with a party and then voting a straight ticket, from city council to president. Political party affiliation had more to do with social identity than ideology. Choosing to be a Republican or a Democrat reflected a way of life.”

Economics
“The appeal of the Big Sort is powerful because consumers, believers, and citizens all benefit from living in homogeneous communities.”

“Today the division in the country isn’t about party allegiance. It’s about how we choose to live.”

“Our like-mindedness [has been] a comfort, a shortcut to intimacy.”

Religion
“In 1960, 60 percent of Evangelical Protestants identified themselves as Democrats.”

“American churches today are more culturally and politically segregated than our neighborhoods.”

Bishop’s Closing Quote
“Now more isolated than ever in our private lives, cocooned with our fellows, we approach public life with the sensibility of customers who are always right. ‘Tailor-made’ has worked so well for industry and social networking sites, for subdivisions and churches, we expect it from our government, too. But democracy doesn’t seem to work that way.”

Comments