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It's pretty unique to America. I can't imagine any German to be as fervently for against Merkel or the CDU like Americans are for or against their party. In many countries I can have spirited political discussions over a wide range of topics without people feeling personally offended. That's simply not possible in the US.

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Tribalism is ingrained in the human psyche. If you're not noticing it, that's probably a bad sign.

Like most things in life there is a wide range of levels of tribalism. American politics is on a very high level of tribalism, more than a lot of other countries.

To quote you: If you are not noticing that, that's probably a bad sign (for what? Can you explain that?)

Bad sign that you may be deeply within one side or another which can blind you to the bigger picture.

From cursory observation of various political engagements around the world, it's all very similarly tribalistic - whether it be over the top rhetoric that appeal to emotion - or in some cases violent. Heck look at the rise of the far right support in various EU states. Politics is very often personal, so people will take it personally.

The only real difference is America takes up all the media oxygen given it's position in the world stage.

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