I’m pretty disillusioned with both the left and the right when it comes to online politics.

I consider myself a progressive center-left individual. I believe strongly in human rights, the importance of liberal governmental institutions, and the importance of redistributive welfare programs.

In recent years, I’ve become concerned with right wing extremism — everything from incel attacks and Neo-Nazi hate crimes to full on attempts to overthrow the government.

Such instances of hatred and violence reveal the crucial role that the internet plays in fostering political extremism. However, dismantling right wing extremism also requires dismantling the far left because both are tied together in two distinct ways.

The Horseshoe and the Feedback Loop

Extreme left and right wing positions tend to align on certain issues — a phenomenon known as horseshoe theory. It’s especially obvious today when it comes to foreign policy.

Recently, far left wingers downplayed reports of Hamas’s killing, raping, and torturing of Israeli civilians. Similarly, far right wing commentators such as Nick Fuentes dismissed reports of Hamas’s war crimes as Jewish propaganda. To be clear, there has also been misinformation from the Israeli side, such as the unverified claim that Hamas decapitated 40 babies, but that’s irrelevant to the ideological point I’m making about extremism.

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both left and right wingers defended Putin and falsely blamed NATO expansionism for the conflict. Noam Chomsky himself emerged from retirement to repeat pro-Russia apologia, while Tucker Carlson articulated his usual “America first, I don’t care about the rest of the world” rhetoric.

One of the reasons why the far left and right merge together concerns their shared distrust of liberal values. Both sides are more than willing to engage in disinformation to support their goals. The horseshoe effect means that calling out one side entails calling out the other as well, at least in the cases of foreign policy that I just mentioned.

The second way that left and right wing extremism are related is that they both reinforce each other in a feedback loop.

For instance, Antifa — a catchall term for various far-left groups that tend to use violent tactics — views themselves as a response to the most extreme of the right wing. Meanwhile, gun toting right wing paramilitary groups view themselves as a response to the most extreme of the left wing.

In other words, left wing extremism pushes people to right wing extremism. At the same time, right wing extremism pushes people to left wing extremism. Both sides view the other in the most extreme light possible, and therefore see extremism as the only solution for themselves.

In sum, the horseshoe posits that left and right wing extremism at times merge into the same monster. The feedback loop posits that the extremes feed each other. As a result of these two phenomena, any serious attempt to combat right wing extremism must also fight the left as well, and vice versa.

Making Liberalism Sexy Again

So how to combat the horseshoe effect and the feedback loop?

The first action we should all take is to call out extremism wherever it occurs regardless of political affiliation.

The disregard for truth and human rights are two key facets that define extremism. Throughout history, both communist and fascist governments have had no qualms about lying to their people and violating their rights. As a result, calling out extremism today means following the values of truth and morality rather than partisanship.

Sadly, looking beyond the party line does not always happen today. Republicans still downplay the Jan. 6 riots and the role former President Trump played in an attempt to overthrow the electoral process. Meanwhile, Democrats defend the lie that Jacob Blake was shot unjustifiably and turn a blind eye to the subsequent violent riots in Kenosha that led to the Kyle Rittenhouse situation.

Additionally, more moderate types face a disadvantage when it comes to combating extremists: Far left and right ideas are sexier.

Extremist narratives are compelling because they prey upon our narrative bias. We as human beings want to be heroes in a grander story of good vanquishing evil. Extremist thought tends to start from a grain of truth; communists, fascists and populists latch onto legitimate societal problems and hit the “pain points” of people today. They then advocate for overthrowing the status quo and promise an idyllic new order that will resolve today’s problems.

In a world where people face significant obstacles to achieving the most meaningful things in life— whether that be community, friendship, love, or economic security — extremism offers an electrifying purpose and meaning to life.

In order to counter the allure of extremism, we must first unify those who fall under the category of “non-extremist.”

We must see that a liberal tent extends from the left to the right and unifies us beyond the party line. Those who are fundamentally liberal in their outlook on politics — those who believe in human rights and institutions — extend from social democrats to centrists to neoconservatives. We may disagree on tax rates, military spending, and culture war issues — but we agree on the fundamentals of a moral government.

Second, we have to cultivate and promote emotionally captivating stories that make people proud to be liberal Americans. The only way to successfully defang extremism is to make non-extremism sexier by also appealing to the human affinity for stories and heroism.

One key narrative that we must support is the idea that the United States, in spite of all its faults, is worth fighting for. From a historical standpoint, we have to view America as a place that gets progressively better over time.

In particular, we can look to the Greatest Generation for patriotic inspiration and a defense of liberalism.

The Greatest Generation suffered through tough times: the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1919, the Great Depression, and World War II. American society was grievously immoral: African Americans were still treated as second class citizens under Jim Crow, Japanese-Americans were unjustifiably sent to internment camps, and women had lower social and economic standing than men.

Despite their imperfections and challenges, the Greatest Generation still came together to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Black soldiers bravely fought for their country, even as there were cases of Black veterans returning back from the war only to be lynched. The Japanese American 442nd Regimental Unit, composed of famous heroes such as Daniel Inouye, is the most decorated American military unit in history. Due to a shortage of men in the labor force, women stepped up on the home front to bolster American war production.

Marginalized groups from this generation contributed to the national institutions that sought to defeat fascism and other anti-democratic regimes, even as those institutions were unfair to them. The Greatest Generation demonstrates that despite the imperfections and injustices of the American government, the liberal order is worth fighting for — particularly against more extreme and cruel forms of politics. As World War II veteran and U.S. Marine Eugene Sledge said:

“Until the millennium arrives and countries cease trying to enslave others, it will be necessary to accept one’s responsibilities and be willing to make sacrifices for one’s country – as my comrades did. As the troops used to say, ‘If the country is good enough to live in, it’s good enough to fight for.’ With privilege goes responsibility.”

In addition, an individual hero we can all look up to for political moderation is former President Abraham Lincoln.

The 16th president navigated arguably the most trying times that the United States has ever faced. Lincoln wanted to see slavery extinguished, but had to moderate debate between radical abolitionists and pro-slavery factions to preserve the Union – a lonely position that saw him attacked by people on all sides. At the same time, Lincoln struggled greatly with personal problems — he faced many failures in his life and likely suffered from depression. Despite this (or perhaps because of these challenges), he was able to win the Civil War, save the Union, and abolish slavery with the passage of the 13th Amendment. Lincoln demonstrated the great allure of liberalism and political moderation: strength, patience and balance.

“But say all we have done is show the world that democracy isn’t chaos, that there is a great invisible strength in a people’s union? Say we’ve shown that a people can endure awful sacrifice and yet cohere? Mightn’t that save at least the idea of democracy, to aspire to? Eventually to become worthy of? At all rates, whatever must be proven by blood and sacrifice must have been proved by now. Shall we stop this bleeding?” – “Lincoln,” 2011 film

Crafting compelling stories in favor of liberalism, moderation, and patriotism are the key to quelling today’s discontent. The intellectual arguments in favor of a liberal government, while important, are frankly boring and uninspiring. We need stories, heroes and alluring narratives to find deeper emotional meaning in the world. Scientists help us understand the world, but poets will help us save it.

At the end of the day, us good liberals, ranging from Democrats to Republicans, must shake hands, put our backs against each other, and face down the hordes of extremists on our respective sides. However, we must recognize first that it will not be our comradery that keeps us together, but the stories we tell that will keep us standing strong.