Politics used to be about governance. About policies. About making decisions that affected people’s lives. That era is dead. Now, politics is about identity. It’s about belonging. It’s about loyalty. And most importantly, it’s about proving—every waking moment—that your side is good, and the other side is evil.

This shift from ideological disagreements to all-out tribal warfare is why political discourse today feels less like a debate and more like a never-ending season of Survivor, except instead of voting people off the island, we cancel them, dox them, or storm a government building in cosplay.

At the heart of this mess are sacred values—beliefs so deeply ingrained in a group’s identity that they become untouchable, immune to compromise, and resistant to logic. When politics starts revolving around these values, discussion is no longer possible. You can’t negotiate over something that’s sacred.

And that’s exactly what’s happening today.

This topic is discussed in greater detail in Own The Libs: Politics is the New Personality. To grab your copy, click the link below.

How tribalism hijacked political discourse

Political tribalism didn’t just happen overnight. It was engineered. It’s the result of years of media fragmentation, social media echo chambers, and political messaging designed to activate people’s most primal instincts.

Back in the day, you could argue with your neighbor about tax policy without worrying that he’d report you to the HOA as a domestic terrorist. That’s because politics, while important, wasn’t existential.

Now? Politics is war. And in war, you’re either with us or against us.

This happens because political identity has merged with personal identity. If you challenge someone’s political views, they don’t take it as a critique of their argument—they take it as a direct attack on who they are.

And once you reach that point, people stop thinking. They stop questioning. They stop engaging with new information. Instead, they double down. Because admitting they’re wrong doesn’t just mean they got a policy detail incorrect—it means betraying their tribe​.

The power of sacred values

So what exactly are sacred values, and why do they turn otherwise reasonable people into zealots?

Political scientist Philip Tetlock defines sacred values as beliefs that are non-negotiable, emotionally charged, and inviolable​. These aren’t just opinions—they’re fundamental moral truths that people refuse to weigh against practical costs.

For example, take the abortion debate. For one side, it’s about bodily autonomy. For the other, it’s about the sanctity of life. The problem? Neither of those are empirical claims that can be debated with facts and figures. They are moral absolutes.

And when something is absolute, compromise is impossible.

This is why political arguments no longer go anywhere. People aren’t weighing trade-offs, they’re defending sacred values. And when you feel like your core beliefs are under attack, you don’t respond with reason. You respond with outrage.

Politicians exploit sacred values to control voters

Politicians know exactly how to manipulate sacred values. In fact, they count on it.

The formula is simple:

1. Identify a value that people hold sacred (e.g., freedom, patriotism, family).
2. Convince them that the opposing party is actively trying to destroy that value.
3. Present yourself as the last line of defense against this existential threat.

This is how you get politicians claiming that liberals want to abort babies after birth or that conservatives want to round up gay people and put them in camps. Neither of these things are happening, but it doesn’t matter. The goal isn’t accuracy—it’s activation.

By framing every policy debate as a life-or-death battle over sacred values, politicians make sure their supporters stay emotionally engaged, permanently enraged, and completely uninterested in facts​.

When political tribalism turns violent

The problem with turning political disagreements into existential conflicts is that existential conflicts tend to escalate.

A 2018 neuroscience study found that people are significantly more likely to engage in violence when they feel their sacred values are under threat​. This is why we see political violence rising, from mass shootings inspired by extremist ideology to mobs storming government buildings.

And here’s the worst part: The people in power know this. They want this. Because as long as you believe your very existence is at stake, you’ll never stop fighting. And as long as you never stop fighting, you’ll never stop voting for them.

The illusion of moral superiority

One of the most dangerous aspects of political tribalism is that it convinces people they are fighting for righteousness while their enemies are fighting for evil.

Historian Jennifer Mercieca warns that when we start treating politics like a battle between good and evil, it dehumanizes the other side​. And once that happens, the normal rules of ethics no longer apply.

This is why people justify blatant hypocrisy. Why they excuse corruption if it’s their guy doing it. Why they celebrate political violence when it’s aimed at their opponents.

Because in a moral war, anything is justified.

Political tribalism isn’t just making discourse toxic—it’s making governance impossible.

When people are more concerned with punishing the other side than with actually solving problems, nothing gets done. When voters refuse to hold their own politicians accountable, corruption thrives. And when every issue is framed as a war over sacred values, compromise becomes a dirty word.

This is not sustainable. But until people start valuing truth over tribe, it’s not going to change.