I am working on a longer piece about our “Political Identities”, but I have been sharing this podcast with everyone - so I thought I should post it here as well.
If you think some portion of Americans are crazy - you probably need to listen to this. They are not crazy - they are very normal. And that is the good and bad of it. We need to treat each other with respect and care - and it can help enormously if we understand a bit as to why the “other side” sometimes sees US as crazy. So - - listen to at least the first 15 minutes.
Principal ideas behind this.
Tribal psychology. Our identity is wrapped up in our tribal membership.
There is NO minimal group paradigm. People belong to a group, period. It is automatic, it is instant, it is not a decision.
Us vs Them. We favor our own group over the other, even to the damage of our own group. Any conflict over resources and humans puts us automatically into us versus them thinking, even if that is not the best strategy for our own group. We have to WIN, no matter the cost to ourselves.
Anything can trigger Group Identity. In times of great conflict groups will hold positions based on anything. Beliefs and attitudes that have no political impact, will take on an US vs THEM power.
A good example is the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vs HBV vaccine (Hepatitis B). Both are vaccines against viruses. Both prevent serious illnesses and cancers. HBV was not politicized, and most people are now protected. HPV causes a wide variety of cancers, and it is probably present in 70% of the population. It is our most common STD. The manufacturer introduced it to Congress to get early approval and to make it mandatory. It became a political flashpoint.Contempt for the other generates even more anger. We need to treat each other with care and respect or we have no way out of this mess we are in.
Conclusions:
We are unaware that we are doing this. We create reasons and rationalizations automatically because our trusted peers - our tribes - will agree with us.
ANY fact based issue can become politicized - anything. Even masks.
We had hoped that a shared threat would bring people together to confront it. BUT then Covid 19 happened - and it was politicized, so we are now fighting over that. Some of us think this is all a grand plot by the other side. Really.
Do not antagonize them, do not treat them poorly. It is not helpful.
We MUST avoid politicizing the vaccine - we simply MUST! The downside is too great.
