Politics is not important. Life is important. Politics is just a supposedly necessary evil. It is not an end. It is just something that is in the way and that we stumble upon. But it pervades everything.

The ideological polarization that some denounce is a farce: it is the Left that has drifted to the extreme, and the Right, as historically befits it, limits itself to reaction. The omnipresence of politics has reached such an extreme that in some dating apps, you can read in the profile “I only date antifas” or “I do not tolerate fascists;” it is worth remembering that, for the Left, a fascist is anyone who does not say amen — with apologies to secularists — to all the madness of postmodern progressivism. (READ MORE: American Campuses Threaten Students and the Nation)

Polarization also alludes to two distancing extremes, although the word radicalization better defines the ideological displacement of one of them. The consequences are already here. Check out this headline from a Harris Poll and Indeed survey, “40% of Gen Z and Millennial Workers Would Quit a Job Over Political Differences in the Workplace.” When ideology grows too big, the individual declines and ideas take the place of people. We are at that point.

You Can’t Debate Emotion in Politics

This Harris poll (Kamala has nothing to do with this) means a few things. For one, intolerance of dissent. It reminds me of when I was 15 and would argue with absolutely anything my parents said, no matter how obviously wrong I was. These young people just want to see themselves as part of a large group, loaded to the gills with prejudice.

To the extent that the postmodern Left has abandoned ideas to give way to its amalgam of identity causes, its discourse has been reduced to emotions. And emotions cannot be debated. You cannot debate abortion if someone says “There exists a human life with rights” and the other responds “Do you want to condemn a woman to eternal sadness.” (READ MORE: Google Controls the Internet … and Us!)

You cannot debate anything when your opponent has only mastered the art of emotional manipulation. It is a kind of immaturity, and the immature one is like an adolescent: They do not tolerate being contradicted because everything seems to affect the deepest part of their heart, every time they question their ideas or those of others seems like a matter of life and death.

On the other hand, the data reflects the consequences of the effort made by many corporations to become ideological loudspeakers. The DEI projects and woke cosmos have achieved the impossible: We now identify an ally or an enemy in the flavor of an orange soda. How has this miracle come about? I will gladly remind you:

Many companies are backtracking because they know that it is they with their go woke, go broke, with their extreme and absurd ideological positions, who have contributed to bringing political polarization to the forefront — as if it were mandatory to have a clear criterion on everything, from the environment to glass ceilings. It is implied that the consumer must commit. We hear too little “I have no idea about this issue, so I won’t give an opinion;” I admit that I have never said it myself, but I am a columnist, I make a living by voicing my opinion.

Man Is Not Merely a Political Animal

Let me clarify something. There are ideological reasons that justify the decision of the young people surveyed. I would not have as my boss, an Islamic State terrorist or someone who uses his company’s profits to support the murderous regime in Venezuela. Not out of hatred, but out of principle. But other than that, throughout my career, I’ve worked with conservatives and progressives alike, and I’m lucky to have a wide range of ideological lunatics of all stripes among my friends.

Perhaps because I suppose I still consider people to be people, with all their dignity, rather than mere political animals. It is politicians who try to dispossess people of their identity to trap them in the way of living and thinking of their sects. I also clarify that commitment to ideas is not to be criticized, it is praiseworthy. The problem is when that commitment is placed ahead of everything else as if carrying a party card in one’s mouth were a guarantee of some kind, as if there were no more important militancy in life. (READ MORE: Tulsi Gabbard Endorses Donald Trump)

The misnamed political polarization has in recent years broken up families, marriages, and friendships, and now it could also dynamite the relationship between co-workers. This is too much responsibility for a handful of ideas and a collection of damn budgets. It’s time for politicians to mind their own business for a while and let us dine in peace with our friends, and love our co-workers, even if we know they exercise their right to vote, not with their hands, but with their asses.