America isn’t divided by left versus right.
It’s divided by one cultural perspective:
Is different dangerous — or is different desirable?
While this split shows up in politics, it’s really about culture. In Hofstede’s terms, it’s the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance, how comfortable people are with the unknown, the new, and the unpredictable.
Every fight you see, over immigration, education, the economy, comes back to this one cultural dimension.
Two Ways of Seeing the World
On one side are those who believe different is dangerous. Change feels threatening.
New ideas, new people, new norms. That creates fear. The instinct is to control, to build walls, to fight against change.
On the other side are those who believe that different is desirable.
Diversity, innovation, and debate are what make a nation strong and prosperous. For them, change isn’t a threat; it’s an opportunity, it’s how progress is made.
History shows they are right. That is not an opinion. It is how nations and people actually progress: through openness, adaptation, and renewal. Every culture, every era follows this same pattern.
Why Trump Divides
This divide explains Trump.
His supporters overwhelmingly see the world through the different is dangerous cultural perspective. They believe America’s problems come from anything unfamiliar: immigrants, global trade, and new ideas that challenge tradition. So they rally around a leader who promises safety by controlling anything different, even eliminating people who are different.
Those who oppose Trump have the different is desirable cultural perspective. They know progress comes from inclusion, from new people, new thinking, and even uncomfortable change.
The Deeper Truth
The problem is that neither side fully understands it’s a cultural issue.
Those opposing Trump dismiss his base as simply wrong or hateful. But they don’t see the fear beneath those feelings, the deep belief that if things change too fast, America will collapse. Trump, along with Republican leaders, feeds this fear. They tell Americans that “different” is always dangerous.
But this is categorically wrong. Historical patterns prove it. Nations grow stronger when they embrace diversity and adaptation. Different is what built America in the first place.
Staying the same, or moving backward as Trump proposes, is what will kill America.
What Must Change
To those opposed to Trump: You must engage with the fear the other side is feeling, not just fight it.
To those supporting Trump: You must face the truth that safety doesn’t come from control. Safety comes from progress. And progress comes from difference.
How do you see the world?
Is different dangerous?
Or is different desirable?
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