Charles Van Doren is best known as the contestant in the 1959 rigged game show, “Twenty-One.” In his book, “A History of Knowledge,” he explores the roots of Western Civilization. Like the Iraq war, Van Doren argues the world wars were actually one war with a brief interlude. While the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand sparked WWI, the author suggests we really don’t understand the underlying causes.

As depicted in the popular BBC series “Downton Abbey,” Europeans got swept up in the euphoria of nationalism, patriotism and visions of heroism fighting for national honor. But as mustard gas drifted across no man’s land, those in the trenches realized, as General Patton suggested 25 years later, it’s best to let the other fellow die for his country.

Today, we see similar passions driving public behavior.

“Love is but a song we sing. Fear’s the way we die” — The Youngbloods

For the most part, participants in the Jan. 6 Capitol siege were unaffiliated members of the general public. While the Republican National Committee describes the event that resulted in five deaths, more than 750 arrests, $30 million in damages to the structure that embodies our national ideals and the erection of gallows on Capitol grounds, as a “legitimate political discourse,” one wonders how things got so broken.

Time and again, those arrested, ordinary folks, testify remorsefully they cannot believe their own actions. Their testimony reminded me of the commercial, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”

“You ate it, Ralph.”

                                                                     

“You can make the mountains ring. Or make the angels cry.”

After the Holocaust, we needed to understand why 90 million Germans turned a blind eye toward the industrialization of mass murder. Stanley Milgram’s controversial Obedience Experiment (1961) found that 65% of us would obey a perceived authority figure to the point of committing murder. Phillip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (1971) affirmed the behaviors of Milgram’s subjects. Hannah Arendt coined this “the banality of evil.”

“Though the bird is on the wing, and you may not know why.”

Oxford University scholars find a primary cause of widespread violence is when society breaks into factions. After fractionalization, grievance or a sense of victimization causes individuals to congregate and dehumanize the target of their grievances. In 2007, Jeffrey Kluger noted, “In most cases … you have a moral entrepreneur who exploits tribalism for evil purposes.” You see, when we join the crowd, history documents that normal people; churchgoers, social justice warriors, teachers, police officers, students and stay-at-home moms, are capable of acts they would never consider individually. When we get swept up in the moment, one can be easily led astray.

A COVID States Project survey this year found that 1 in 4 Americans believes that violence against our government is “definitely or probably justifiable.” Similar findings appear in other polls.

We know that violent crime against Asian-Americans went up as authority figures used the term “Chinese Flu.” Whether it’s an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina (nine died), a synagogue in Pittsburgh (11 died, six injured), or a country music concert in Las Vegas (58 died, 800 injured), dehumanizing others, especially within defined groups, unintentionally can give others permission to commit heinous acts of violence.

“We are but a moment’s sunlight. Fading in the grass”

I doubt anyone envisions themselves in events that lead to violence. Certainly a large number of those arrested for the Jan. 6 insurrection could not. And yet the violence continues to occur.

Suppose for a moment that you’re among Milgram’s 35% who can resist authority. Then according to the most recent U.S. Census, that leaves 216.5 million Americans who cannot. Hyperbolic? Hopefully. But words and deeds matter.

It’s time to weigh our own behavior while not turning a blind eye toward irresponsible actors. Those using inflammatory rhetoric must be challenged or shunned in the pursuit of domestic tranquility over political tribalism.

“Come on, people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together, try to love one another right now.”

Rick Galusha, Ph.D., teaches political science at Bellevue University. He’s hosted a blues radio show for 30 years and was president of Homer’s Music. Galusha was active in the creation of the Old Market Business Association. His opinions do not represent those of Bellevue University.