who care much more about whether what you said is polite than whether it's actually a good thing to say.

This is a great point. So much of the talk around equality is nothing more than pandering to gain social approval.

And when you see people getting their entire careers ruined over saying the wrong thing once, or even something they said decades ago, it just drives people into the political margins.

People are more interested in attacking their neighbors for "bigotry" than they are in building a more just society.

I'm putting bigotry in quotes, because the words and ideas that are considered hateful are constantly changing. If someone doesn't keep up with the latest fashion in acceptable speech, they may suddenly find themselves opposite to an angry mob.

The social climate surrounding us is not an accident. The way people respond to their perceived political rivals is not an accident. It's a result of how unprepared our society is in dealing with social media algorithms that promote engagement through division. And a result of bad actors capitalizing on that division to sow greater unrest.

This isn't new. The evidence has been on full display for years. And yet, the damage has been done. There's simply no social appetite for those who support slow and steady (durable and stable) policy reform.

The recent political climate on "sides" can be summed up with "You're either 100% with us, no discussion, or you are our enemy" and that's where true oppression begins.