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Over the years, I’ve developed a curiosity about the differences between the Left and the Right. Sometimes I think my theories hold water. At other times, they come way out of left field (no pun intended). In particular, I was thinking about one of my dearest friends, a Lefty with whom I’ve refused to discuss politics. Although we don’t differ on everything (she’s reminded me that she grew up with guns), we are miles apart. She gets most of her information from the L.A. Times and the leftist television channels; I rely on Ricochet, American Thinker, PJ Media and The Federalist and other blogs on the Right. I’ve learned to navigate the biases in the Wall Street Journal and on Fox News.
But when I’ve looked into the subject of the split between Left and Right, I think I’ve discovered another barrier: they read the headlines; we read the stories.
This description suggests that the Left is not only looking for information that confirms their beliefs, but they never seem interested in getting a well-rounded understanding of the facts. They take for granted that the news anchors are giving them “the facts” - that Donald Trump is a monster and never does anything to help this country; and any redeeming qualities that the Right uses to describe him are lies. The fact is, making the effort to look for a well-balanced argument defies their worldview. So once they see headlines that confirm their belief system, they have done their duty.
In contrast, I think the Right is more likely to look for not only the facts, but also the background of the situation. In some ways, we are pushed into taking this approach because the mainstream media reports in lockstep, with rare exceptions. The MSM also tends to make outrageous claims about Trump that no person of reason would accept without raising questions, so we feel responsible and compelled to make sure that our facts are reliable and consistent.
I have no idea how to bridge the chasm that has developed. To ask any group of people to at least be curious when they are accustomed to accepting the propaganda they are fed is hardly realistic. But I think when the opportunity arises for us to learn about the views of our friends on the Left, we might ask them to share what they know about the data behind the headlines.
In most cases, I doubt that they know.
They are too busy building fortresses to protect their ideas.
Discussion (35)
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I think a reason for this, as has been brought up on other posts, is that Leftism is more like a pseudo-religion for leftists, while people on the Right typically (not always) subscribe to one of the traditional religions, so politics, social philosophy, and the rest, have only relative rather than absolute significance for them. We can be wrong about a particular policy without our entire understanding of ourselves and our lives being called into question.
We like to joke that Donald Trump is akin to the Devil for leftists, but this may be more true than we think. And you don't negotiate or listen to the Devil, since he is the Father of Lies. And any means is allowed to destroy him. Reading further in the story is pointless, because it will either confirm what one already knows, or be disinformation from the Devil who is trying to mislead you.
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In the spring or summer of 2016, when the leading candidates were evident but had not been finalized, I was the auto passenger of my dearest friend, like yours a Lefty with whom I never discuss politics. He said words to the effect of, "Doc, I know we never discuss politics, but I think you will agree that there is one particular candidate who must NOT become president, a candidate who is so loathsome and vile as to be ineligible for the job." To which I replied, "yes, I concur". To which he said, "So you agree that Donald Trump should not be elected?", which I rebutted, "No, Hilary Clinton is too loathsome and vile to be POTUS".
We changed the subject.
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I don't even bother to write out "TLDR".
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Thanks, J! I hadn't thought about the Left's connecting their ideas to religion. Those two premises would support each other. So sad.
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That's too funny!! Surprise, surprise. The assumptions that people can make...
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