But you saw it, right? Our man won the debates. Come on, it was totally obvious that the other guy simply does not understand what needs to be done. He’s such an imbecile, I just don’t understand anyone could believe such nonsense. As opposed to us– that man will take us into the future, I tell you. And, look, all the papers support us. The people want us. Just ask anyone you know.
Well, I certainly wouldn’t trust them. Not even worth listening to that crap.
Really?
Really. I read their web page once, and, man, it just enrages me. How could anyone think that way? Such people defy the plainest common sense. It’s not even worth listening to them. Here, read this book. It clearly shows that we’re right.
But how do you know?
Well. Isn’t it obvious? The arguments actually make sense, that’s the great thing about it. I mean, how many people have you met who didn’t agree? Yeah, okay, so there are some weirdos. Heh. That’s definitely true. Yeah, of course, research it if you want. Just remember that those reports are biased by their ideology. My god, who have you been listening to?
Talk to them?
Okay, but… you just can’t convince a person like that. It’s a waste of time with such people. Really. it’s been studied.
Do you ever wonder how they got that way?
What on earth do you mean?
Is it possible to communicate without a common experience or at least some sort of common cognitive framework? The real problem isn’t that people disagree, or even that it’s hard to communicate… it’s that facts have been made irrelevant to the discussion in the public sphere. If the facts don’t matter what’s the point of debate? If politics are nothing more than an expression of personal identity then demographics are all that matter. My party, right or wrong, seems like a recipe for civil war.
I’d like to know if other political bodies have wandered into this sort of stable yet deeply polarized situation in the past, how they got there and how (if) they got out. It certainly seems like Europe isn’t as deeply divided as the United States is today, but it would be interesting to see some studies on the sociology of that.
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/report_60_million_people_youd
http://bumperstickers.cafepress.com/item/democrat-reality-has-a-liberal-bias-bumper/104094027
http://www.amazon.com/True-Enough-Learning-Post-Fact-Society/dp/0470050101
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226467716