Solving Political Differences

Today more than ever, Republicans and Democrats agree on very little. Roughly 73% of the public say that Republicans and Democrats not only disagree over policies but disagree on “basic facts.” Most Republicans and Democrats believe that no good ideas come from the other party. Republicans tend to lean toward individual freedoms while Democrats attach greater importance to equality. Democrats tend to favor a more active government and believe that such involvement can improve the quality of people’s lives. But Republicans favor a smaller government and often see it as wasteful and obstacles to getting things done. But party association alone doesn’t clarify the differences. Most researchers agree that the media is responsible and makes a lot of money by polarized viewers.

 

Although the media contributes to the conflict, it doesn’t completely explain why we sort ourselves into these polarizing groups. Democrats and Republicans seem to live in bubbles, having little exposure to the other party’s differences. To decrease the divide, we must understand the various factors that work to divide us. Knowing that the divide may be due to our own feelings of fear and misunderstandings gives us the ability to better understand how we’ve gotten to where we are in the first place. Another way to mitigate the divisiveness is to physically bring people together in a safe, highly structured dialogue groups. Jeanne Safer, PhD, a psychotherapist for over 45 years, reminds us that things aren’t as black and white as they may sometimes seem. Israel, and respect for someone else’s views is the foundation for bridging the political divide.

She cautions that social media limits our ability to have effective conversations. On social media, “people feel like they’re having conversations with people, but they’re not really interacting as full human beings.” She recommends that we should be having conversations “face-to-face.” Her recommendation is to “take our politics offline, into our communities, and work directly with people on real problems.”

Famous Cards

https://simondalexy.com/