Horowitz: Americans With Different Political Views No Longer Talk to Each Other

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Rob Horowitz, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Americans with different political views aren’t even talking past each other; they aren't talking at all. “Nearly half of Clinton supporters (47%) and 31% of Trump supporters, say they have no close "friends" who support the opposing candidate, according to a recent Pew Research Center Poll. And only 1-in-4 Trump supporters and less than 1-in-5 Clinton supporters indicate “they have a lot or some close friends." who back the opposing candidate.

On the other hand, large majorities of Trump and Clinton supporters have substantial numbers of close friends who back the candidate of their choice. Not surprisingly, given this set of facts, people have far more conversations about the race with people who agree with their choice of candidate than with people that disagree. In fact, political conversations with people we disagree with are few and far between.

These recent Pew findings are further evidence of a disturbing trend in our political culture-that we are becoming segregated by partisan preference. We increasingly live in communities with people who mainly share our political views, participate in social media universes that are comprised of like-minded people, and get our media from outlets that share our point of view and ideology. As Bill Bishop, the author of the Big Sort, which describes how liberals prefer urban areas and conservatives the exurbs, said, “American is hiving.” Bishop points out the dramatic increase in landslide counties, where candidates of one party consistently receive more than 60% of the vote.

The consequences of a nation increasingly segregated by partisan preference and political ideology is that we become more definite in our views and less willing to compromise. Research shows that when we regularly interact with people with whom we disagree we are more open to different points of view and our views tend to moderate. Unfortunately, for most of us, the people we talk with and the media we consume reinforces and amplifies our opinions-making us more convinced that we have a monopoly on truth and good intentions.

The result is reflected in the gridlock we see in national politics today—in which principled compromise is too often punished and reflexive opposition too often rewarded. If we want this to change, we must change and it starts with reaching out to people with whom you disagree, listening to their point of view and seeking common ground.

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island