I don't think there's anything wrong with disagreeing with someone, even passionately, even angrily, but I think the polarization argument especially in Canada is a straw man. If Stephen Harper is PM for five more years the world won't end and if the Liberals came to power I would think the same. Sure, we'd all bitch at each other and fight about that we think is wrong, but there would be no rioting in the streets or million man marches.
A good example of that is repatriation ceremonies. When a soldier comes down that highway both sides of the war debate have stood side by side to acknowledge the loss. In the last funeral I went to there was a significant difference oif opinion about the war, but we weren't so polarized that we had to stand on opposing sides of the casket.
We are fed this bill of goods by the media with their phoney outrage and the extreme elements of Society's weaker brained individuals. These are the same people who rabble rouse soccer fans, or go to Black Block protests. They are not representative.