Those who study the impact of social divisions (like gender, race and yes, political party affiliation) on perceptions of others find a couple of interesting and robust effects:
1) we virtually always demonstrate a strong preference for those in our own category,
and
2) we routinely assume that people in OTHER categories are “all alike” (or at least more similar than they really are).
I’m pondering that on this Election Day. As Democrats and Republicans cast their votes, many have become even more partisan during this election than in the past.
“My party is the party of God… the party of morality, the right party for our nation. True Christians will vote for _____________.”
“Why can’t those people [in the other party] understand? Don’t they see what an idiot their candidate is? Those people are all alike.”
This kind of simplistic reasoning is dangerous in the best of situations. It seems to me that this particular point in history is a horrible time to be experiencing it. The election will soon be over. Even if there are legal challenges, we will soon know the results. And then somehow we have to go on. And seeing the other major party as somehow possessed by Satan is no way to go about doing the nation’s business. Reconciliation will be harder this time around, but it needs to happen. We have serious work to do in terms of foreign policy, conducting/ending a ground war, addressing mounting national debt, dealing with job losses and healthcare… And the sad news is that most reports I’ve read suggest that the partisanship seen throughout the country is especially venemous in Washington.
Need something to pray about today? Let’s pray that we get on with the nation’s business ASAP. Holding partisan elections is part of our way of life, but hating those who disagree with us shouldn’t be.
I remember how disappointed I felt a few years back when I saw a bumper sticker on a car that said “Don’t blame me, I voted for Bush.” [that'd be the first Pres. Bush] I’d rather see a bumper sticker that says “Don’t blame me, I voted.” Do your civic duty, then do what is in the best interest of the country. Pray for the wisdom to hear and understand the voices of others as we move forward. Pray for the courage to rise above labelling those who disagree with us as morally or intellectually inferior. It will take both of those, courage and wisdom.
Published 4 years ago
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Amen.
Feithy
I totally agree. No matter who wins, it seems that almost 50% of the country is going to be pissed. We are going to remain a divided country, demonizing the other side, for some time, I fear. I pray we will be able to find some kind of reconciliation.
I am with you, my friend. For my part, I see a lot of what looks like willful blindness and willful ignorance among Americans on both sides of the aisle. NPR reported this morning that for voters in the Midwest, the key issue was morality, while for voters in the Northeast, the key issue was the war in Iraq. I guess it’s even harder to effect reconciliation when we can’t even agree on which issue to work together on.
Thank you, Bene! That was good … so comforting compared to the “Bush is a moron”, “Yay we won, nyah nyah” posts that I’ve been inundated with for the past 24 hours.
I too pray that we can rise about all this bickering and get along. It’s not just America, but the rest of the world that is polarised. I hope somehow we can put aside our differences … oh well. (you can see I have a lot of hope about that)
It was good wasn’t it?
Mark Vincent is a professor in the US I have come to regard with a great deal of respect, and I’m pleased he took the time to post.