You've got your flipper on a major part of the breakdown in communication. The presumption of good faith. The authoritarian types on both sides don't come in good faith. It's their way or the highway and the algorithms that run social media and media in modern times promote and distribute authoritarian style thinking over democratic or egalitarian style thinking.

I liked John McCain. I didn't agree with much of his policies but I did believe he was an adherent of small l liberal democracy and so I could automatically give him that benefit of the doubt that comes with good faith.

His daughter is a piece of work though.

And we can't say the same about most everyone else in the Republican party and their sycophants these days.