When was the last time you had a calm, reasoned political conversation with someone who holds opposing views? For many Americans, such exchanges have become nearly impossibleas our national discourse fractures into hostile tribes that see the world in stark terms of allies and enemies.
This fragmenting of our American personality isn’t merely political division — it’s a psychological regression. Drawing on psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion’s groundbreaking work on group behavior, I suggest we’re witnessing a collective retreat into what he called “Basic Assumption Mentality” — a primitive emotional state triggered by societal trauma.
Think of Basic Assumption Mentality as our fight-or-flight response activated at a group level. When overwhelmed by anxiety, groups instinctively search for simple answers and powerful protectors rather than tolerating complexity. We split the world into good and evil, friends and enemies, black and white.