Why is it that US voters are so divided just now? The last time there was such political rancor and division was in the late '60s, early '70s, and that was over just one issue. Now, bipartisanship has gone the way of the dodo and the fiscal conservative, gone, extinct, dead. Why?
I think it is because we have so much information to choose from. We can listen to only so much, read only so much, and so we tend to pay attention to sources that confirm our biases. That solidifies our opinions and makes us believe that people with the opposite opinions are not simply misinformed, but also stupid, or perhaps evil and duplicitous.
Confirmation bias. We see it here on PHW, we see it in everyday life. If someone wears a MAGA hat, the non Trumpers don't just think, "There's someone who has the opposite opinion of mine," but all too many want to strike out verbally or even physically. We speak of fake news, of socialists taking over, of Fascism, of Communists taking over (shades of the '50s!) instead of Republicans think this, Democrats believe that. The other side doesn't just have an opposite opinion, they're evil and anti American.
Confirmation bias and too much information to process. That's the problem.
I think it is because we have so much information to choose from. We can listen to only so much, read only so much, and so we tend to pay attention to sources that confirm our biases. That solidifies our opinions and makes us believe that people with the opposite opinions are not simply misinformed, but also stupid, or perhaps evil and duplicitous.
Confirmation bias. We see it here on PHW, we see it in everyday life. If someone wears a MAGA hat, the non Trumpers don't just think, "There's someone who has the opposite opinion of mine," but all too many want to strike out verbally or even physically. We speak of fake news, of socialists taking over, of Fascism, of Communists taking over (shades of the '50s!) instead of Republicans think this, Democrats believe that. The other side doesn't just have an opposite opinion, they're evil and anti American.
Confirmation bias and too much information to process. That's the problem.