Stuck in the Middle with None

There’s this exhausting fight playing out between the far right and the far left—louder, nastier, and more extreme by the day. And while they scream at each other across the battlefield of social media and cable news, many of us are stuck in the middle, watching the show with a mix of disbelief and quiet despair.

I’m talking about the middle—not some mythical moderate utopia, but the wide band of people ranging from center-left to center-right who just want to live in a functional society. People who still believe in nuance, who think compromise isn’t betrayal, and who don’t need politics to be their religion.

But the extremes are taking over. And here’s the truth that’s getting harder for people to say out loud: both sides are screwed.

If you genuinely believe your side is the patriotic one and the other is the crazy cult out to destroy America—and you can’t spot the rot in your own camp—well, you might be deeper in than you think. Extremism isn’t exclusive. It wears different clothes, but it walks the same path.

Yes, the alt-right MAGA movement and the far-left woke progressivism pose similar dangers. And if you instantly feel the need to say, “Well, that’s not true—the real danger is [insert the other side],” then maybe you’ve already picked your team. And that’s the problem.

Both ends have morphed into something more than political positions—they’ve become cultish ideologies. They demand total loyalty. They thrive on purity tests. They feed off fear and outrage. And worst of all, they define themselves not by what they believe in, but by who they’re against.

It’s all fuel. One side’s insanity is the other’s proof. Their worst voices become your go-to examples. It’s a feedback loop. A horseshoe where the ends almost touch.

And all of it is made worse by the fact that we’re living in a post-truth era. Facts don’t stand a chance when narratives are more emotionally satisfying. What feels true matters more than what is true. So both extremes build their own realities, complete with their own “facts,” enemies, and heroes. It’s not just that people disagree—it’s that they don’t even agree on what’s real anymore. And when reality itself becomes optional, the loudest, most tribal voices win.

Where does that leave the rest of us? Disillusioned. Alienated. Watching as the middle ground erodes, trying to hang on to some kind of sanity.

This post isn’t here to tell you who to vote for. It’s just a reminder: if your entire identity is built on ridiculing the other side, maybe stop and look in the mirror.

And for me—being Jewish—this drift to the extremes is more than just exhausting. It’s dangerous. On the far right, I see white supremacists chanting “Jews will not replace us.” On the far left, I see antisemitism dressed up as anti-Zionism, with people denying Israel’s right to exist and justifying terrorism. I get hit from both sides: I’m either a white supremacist for supporting Israel, or a member of a dirty race manipulating the world. It’s a twisted binary where being Jewish means you’re always the villain—just wearing a different mask depending on who’s looking. And that’s a pretty clear sign that neither of them should be in charge of the conversation.

#PoliticalExtremism #PostTruthEra #VoicesFromTheMiddle