Practical Pluralism: Dismantling the Romance of the Big Tent is Key for Healthy Orgs and Coalitions

Hello, fellow Bugbears!

I hope this post finds you as well as can be in the times that we live in. Speaking of those times, I'm going to return to the series on my search for hope eventually, but today what I've got in store is more typical Bugbear Dispatch fare.

In fact, it's something I've been thinking about a lot since last October, when I spoke at the Freedom From Religion Foundation's annual convention and received FFRF's Freethought Heroine award. It's also something I've thought about periodically for years with respect to both governmental and nongovernmental institutions and political coalitions--namely, the notion of the "big tent."

The problem I have with big tent enthusiasts is that they never seem to pose the question: How big is too big? Often, their loyalty to people who seem to be on the same page in their key areas of advocacy clouds their judgment, and this is certainly true of the secular movement. I think I'll address the dynamics of institutional secularism in a subsequent post, though, while in this one I'll limit myself to religious and political institutions in relation to political organizing.

You might find my worry over the fact that some tents are too big to be "problematic" in times like the present, when we need the largest possible political coalition to take down American fascism, one that must include liberals and leftists and even some people who hold distasteful and harmful views on some issues. Or perhaps you come at this topic from the angle of a leftist frustrated over how often the Left tends to engage in counterproductive infighting and splintering. Either way, you have a point.

Let me be clear. The failure of liberals and leftists to unite in Weimar Germany aided the rise of the Nazi Party, and we do not want to repeat that failure in the face of the fascist Republican Party and the abuses of the Trump regime. If you get upset about vocal "wine moms" and people who go to No Kings protests because they're not left enough for you, please feel free to slap yourself in the face. Conversely, if you dismiss everyone to the left of Hillary Clinton as a bunch of "Bernie bros" you can't abide, likewise feel free to slap yourself in the face. Both of you are part of the problem.

That being said, when it comes to both coalitions and institutions, religious and secular, some tents are too big, and sometimes the size of the tent needs to vary depending on the specific needs of a group or protest. But while being too exclusive can be one worry, it is also easy to build a brand on being so inclusive that you end up being exclusive to the marginalized, and doing harm. Let me give you a couple examples of what I mean.