We all see how we are becoming more polarized and isolated. We tend to think others are doing it and don’t notice when we do it ourselves.
One way is to dehumanize people we disagree with. We see it when others do it and criticize them for it. We don’t notice when we do it ourselves. We just think we’re being astute and calling them out.
If you say any of the following, you’re doing the same thing. You may say you’re being accurate, they’re calling names, but however the words differ, they’re coming from similar psychological processes responding to similar situations.
- You call them ideologues
- You say it’s like a religion for them
- You say they’ve abandoned reason
- You say they’re psychopathic
- You say they just want power
- You say they just don’t care
- You spend more time looking at them critically then yourself and your allies
- You call them vermin
- You call them the elite or say that they are being controlled by the elites
What to do instead
Consider that there are people who view you as mindlessly following a party line. You probably aren’t. You probably have motivations they don’t understand among other nuances. Might they as well?
Picking a well-established issue, if you support abortion, you know that people consider you a baby killer. Are you? Do you think they’d benefit from hearing your views with an open mind? Might you then benefit from listening to them with an open mind? Listening and understanding don’t mean supporting, but they help you see them as human like you, just with different views. Don’t you value diversity? What do you think diversity means if it doesn’t include differing values and world views?
If you oppose abortion, , you know that people think you’re trying to control women’s bodies. Are you? Do you think they’d benefit from hearing your views with an open mind? Might you then benefit from listening to them with an open mind? Listening and understanding don’t mean supporting, but they help you see them as human like you, just with different views. Don’t you value diversity? What do you think diversity means if it doesn’t include differing values and world views?