Politics of Identification?

My former colleague, John Stinneford, had these thoughtful comments about my post on identity politics.  He suggests that there is a "connection between identity (or perhaps “identification”) and the genuinely social and political nature of the human person."

When we talk about “identity politics,” what we’re really often talking about is a kind of  “group selfishness.”  My group wants to get something at the expense of your group, and so my group defines your group as evil, worthless, inhuman.  The process is inherently polarizing, and it leads to much of what is sickening about politics – the McCain camp saying that Obama hates his country, for example; or Obama describing McCain as deranged and unstable. 

Your insight concerns an entirely different kind of “identity politics” from the one given to us by the political parties.  Maybe it could be better described as a “politics of identification.”  By identifying profoundly with the humanness of Sarah Palin, you also identify with the humanness of Barack Obama and of those who see their hopes and dreams and aspirations bound up with him.  Reading your essay made me feel hopeful in a way I haven’t felt hopeful in quite a long time.  If we can see the humanness in each other – even in our political enemies – then there’s some chance we may actually be able to live in community.