What’s behind this, I think, is more than just anti-Trumpism – although there’s clearly a fair amount of that. The deeper root, though, is the fundamental shift we’re making as a country away from identification as Americans and toward identification with our various political or societal tribes.
As we’ve discussed in this space before, loyalty is an admirable trait in an abstract sense. We all like the idea that someone would be loyal to us, or to something we identify with – whether that’s your country, your school, your team, your church or what-have-you. You don’t perceive loyalty as a bad thing unless you’re afraid that the object of the loyalty is unworthy of it, or untrustworthy with it.
