Radical Centrism
The middle of the road is all the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters. -Dwight D. Eisenhower
The middle can be such a muddle. Feeling such an extreme emotion on one issue or another seems almost a luxury to the intense scrutiny and research that it takes to be a stalwart of the middle.
To be clear, being in the middle or the center, doesn’t mean you don’t stand for anything, it just means simplistic binaries won’t easily sway you. Binaries are easy. The middle? The middle is hard.
I love quotes. You may have figured this out already as most of my essays start with a quote and they are often peppered throughout. I won’t disappoint here.
I love the quote that starts this podcast blog, but there are others that are equally as alluring, with different messages on the middle. For example, I like the Margaret Thatcher quote:
Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic on both sides.
The Thatcher quote reminds me of my all time favorites from another Brit, Winston Churchill:
You have enemies? Good. That means you stood up for something, sometime in your life.
The middle is often confused with neutrality. Or, being wishy washy. It can suggest indecision at best, and spinelessness at worst.
We are spoon-fed these inaccuracies with cliches such as “if you’re not with us, you’re against us.” There is no room for middle ground in such a statement, is there? Or how about this beloved quote from Elie Wiesel:
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormenter, never the tormented.
This one, or versions of it, have been making the rounds a lot lately. In truth, all of these quotes possess immeasurable wisdom. The problem is, they are often misinterpreted as false binaries — either/or dichotomies of only two choices or sides, that present anything in-between as “neutrality”, or weakness and indecision.
But I do have a stand to make. Charismatic prose or aggressive threats will not deter me. I refuse to confine myself to these simplistic, either/or binaries, even though it is oh so tempting. I do envy those who are so very sure of where they stand; no logic or reason can upset the harmony of single-minded dedication. And I admit, I’m a little jealous of the hard-headed conviction used to confront the muddle of our polarized world. It seems to make life so much more certain. Certainty is a precious security, and I often feel so very insecure.
However, humanity thrives in the middle of the muddle. Complexity and nuance, the true backbone of our existence, make discernment necessary in the search for truth. And so, like my co-host on this week’s podcast, I embrace the middle. Sometimes this means that I take a stand that puts me on one side of the socio-political spectrum, and at others times I stand in a totally different camp.
It means I don’t really have a tribe and I navigate the wilderness often without the compass of certainty. But I am certain that the discernment that I rely on as a guide, ultimately gets me to my destination. I try to remember to take my companions — humility and compassion — along with me on these journeys (sometimes I forget to ask them to come along, and the ride is never as good), as they get along so well with my pal, discernment.
I have found that the radical center, while being one of the most difficult places to exist, is also one of the only places that promises progress — it ignites the premise of the social contract that allows individuals to coexist in community. This sometimes entails compromising marginal individual gains for a grander communal vision. Conversely, it sometimes means fighting tooth and nail for minority gains that have a majority impact. It’s never neat or simple. It’s messy. It is not reactive. It is proactive.
Perhaps most importantly, it is not neutral. It just requires the thought, stamina and courage to navigate the infinitely complex realities of our humanity.
Welcome to the radical center. Join us this week and we discuss the necessary grit to stand in the middle of a storm.
In the Hold My Drink Podcast — navigating the news and politics with a chaser of civility — Episode 19, Radical Centrism — International journalist and BreakLines podcast host, Ioannis Gatsiounis, co-hosts this week’s podcast to discuss the radical center. Join us as we discuss what it means to be “in the middle” and how to combat identity politics of both the right and the left to move away from “wokeness” and find our center. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, and a glass of pinot noir.
Hold My Drink welcomes all people with all kinds of beverages to join us as we discuss what it takes to imagine a new American identity, together.
Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or watch the conversation unfold on YouTube, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
What Ioannis is reading
In Praise of Centrism, San Francisco Chronicle, Ioannis Gastiounis
Self Portrait in Black & White: Unlearning Race, Thomas Chatterton-Williams
What Jen is reading
Will America Tear France Apart? Some of Its Leaders Think So, New York Times, Norimitsu Onishi
The Compound Fractures of Identity Politics, City Journal, Karl Zinsmeister
Ioannis Gastiounis is an international journalist and host of the BreakLines podcast. BreakLines is a non-partisan podcast, taking the form of audio op-eds and tackling pressing social issues, including identity politics, cancel culture, and political polarization. He is also an editorial writer known for his non-ideologically aligned thought pieces in leading publications on pivotal social and political issues, with a particular focus on institutional and dialectical trends feeding our political divides. He is the author of several books, including Velvet & Cinderblocks.