Understanding Political Division and Its Complexities

Humans often simplify complex issues into good and evil, but understanding diverse perspectives fosters healthier dialogue and reduces conflict.

### Understanding the Complexity of Division in Times of Uncertainty
* 😟 In periods of anxiety and uncertainty, people often simplify the world into binaries of **good and evil**, providing a **false sense of comfort** amidst fears about the future.
* 📊 Research indicates that this tendency can lead to misconceptions, as **95% of political tweets come from just 10% of users**, skewing our perception of opposing views.
* 🔍 Studies, such as those conducted by More In Common, reveal that the American voter landscape is **not binary** but consists of **at least seven distinct groups** with varied motivations and beliefs.
* 🤔 For instance, polling on abortion shows that public opinion is **nuanced**, with many individuals **uncertain about their stance**, contradicting the simplistic **pro or anti-abortion labels**.
* 📺 The media often lacks **intellectual humility**, leading to a **distortion of views** that can misrepresent both opponents and allies, ultimately **fueling conflict**.
* 🔥 While anger can be constructive, feelings of **contempt and hatred** indicate a **loss of hope**, increasing the likelihood of **violence** as divisive rhetoric rises.
* 📰 Encouragingly, informing individuals about the complexities of issues can **reduce animosity**, highlighting the vital role of journalism in **fostering understanding**.
* 🤝 Building relationships with those who differ from us is crucial; engaging in **healthy conflict** can protect against the **divisive tactics of conflict entrepreneurs** and promote a **more inclusive dialogue**.

- In times of anxiety and uncertainty, humans tend to split the world into good and evil. It's a very natural tendency, a way to feel more comfortable. Today, you see it among many, many millions of people because there's a lot of anxiety about the future and fear about the present. We assume that the other side is more extreme than it is, partly because we hear so much from them. 95% of political tweets are written by something like 10% of users, so we of course, extrapolate and assume everyone on the other side thinks a certain way. This tendency, which is very understandable, to split the world into good and evil, us and them, can give us short-term comfort. It feels good, it really does, but we make a lot of mistakes in the long term. You can't really divide a country into two camps. For example, there's a research group called More In Common

in the United States and around the world, and they've done some really cool research on the American voter, and what they found is really there aren't two groups. There's about at least seven groups of American voters, so there's all different motivations and reasons and fears and hopes in there. Like, for example, if you look at the polling data over decades of how Americans feel about abortion, what you see is incredible complexity. People will answer differently on different days if the question is phrased slightly differently. People do not fit neatly into a pro or anti-abortion camp. People have really complicated feelings about abortion, and many people don't know what the right answer is. Most of us aren't sure what to think about everything, but we don't really see that modeled anywhere, right? You're supposed to know for sure, and there's very little intellectual humility on social media or on TV.

This distortion effect causes us to misidentify and misunderstand both our enemies and our leaders and our heroes. We make a lot of mistakes, and eventually, we start to destroy the thing we went into the fight to protect, and we begin to mimic the behavior of our opponents without even realizing it. What we know from the research on emotion and conflict is that anger is okay; anger is generative. Anger's a signal that I want you to be better, but contempt and disgust and hatred, those are really hard to work with because they signal that I have given up on you, and that is where violence becomes really, really likely to happen. As the conflict entrepreneurs get louder, and as they get elected into office, and as they are handed huge megaphones on social media, then it becomes very hard to know what is representative of a group or what is one loud mouth who happens to have the biggest microphone.

What we find is, and this is actually really good news, is that when you tell people that this is a mistake and what the real facts are, people actually reduce the amount that they hate the other side. So, it is a treatment, so to speak, for high conflict, to just inform people, which is what ideally journalism would be doing to help people understand each other better as they really are. The number one antidote to splitting is to have relationships with people who aren't like you, who look differently than you, or vote differently than you, or pray differently than you. The more you can engage in those conversations and really cultivate healthy conflict on purpose, which is getting harder to do but is possible, the more immune you're going to be to conflict entrepreneurs, to splitting, to humiliation, to all the things that tend to spark really destructive, malignant conflict.

The one mistake to resist post-election: Good vs. evil | Amanda Ripley

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In times of anxiety, humans often split the world into good and evil, seeking comfort in this division.

This tendency is amplified by social media, where a small percentage of users generate the majority of political tweets, leading to a skewed perception of opposing views.

Research shows that there are actually multiple groups with diverse motivations and complex feelings on issues like abortion, challenging the notion of a simple binary divide.

The distortion effect leads to misidentifying and misunderstanding enemies, leaders, and heroes, causing mistakes and destructive behavior.

Anger is a generative emotion that signals a desire for improvement, while contempt, disgust, and hatred indicate a lack of hope and increase the likelihood of violence.

The rise of conflict entrepreneurs with loud voices makes it difficult to discern representative voices from those with the biggest platforms.

Reducing Hate Through Understanding and Relationships

Informing people about the real facts can reduce their hatred for the other side, making it a potential treatment for high conflict.

Building relationships with those who are different from you is the best antidote to splitting and conflict.

Engaging in conversations and cultivating healthy conflict can help individuals become immune to destructive and malignant conflicts.