I used to think that a rise in nationalism in the west was the reason why things have become so polarized. So tense. Talking politics at the dinner table was never good, but has it always been this bad? The truth is that it’s not the fear of foreigners that defines today’s zeitgeist, but rather a seemingly inconsolable disdain for our own compatriots within our own borders. In that spirit, here’s an ode written by my inner Putin. Or was it Khomeini? Don’t remember. Doesn’t matter. Whatever.