"Good People are Separated by Politics"

I have recently read a book titled, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. Personally, I am not huge into politics because I believe that it can bring out the worst in people. However, recently I have started to notice that the reason it can bring the worst out in people, is because some people genuinely do care about the country, and the people that live within it, so they become passionate about the subject. Although, this passion that is exhibited from both sides is what often probes an argument. Society has come so far, yet we have pushed each other so far away. This book really gives a good understanding as to why people are separated by their political beliefs, and even insight as to how some individuals can change, for a period of time, their conservative or liberal beliefs.

To understand why people with different beliefs tend to argue, you must understand that is deals with the inability to comprehend where one's beliefs come from, and how the other individual understands these beliefs. To understand others beliefs, he says you must first understand the moral sense of people and how they differ for the individual. This moral sense is comprised of several modules that are affected by internal and external factors. "The internal factors include our personality and its development, while the external factors include the environment in which we are raised and the particular experiences we have. It is these internal and external factors - which differ for all of us - that explain the plurality of moral and political views and ideologies across cultures, as well as within the same culture across individuals". 

It is evident that people are having different experiences within the country, and throughout the entire world. However, we should try to comprehend others before we pass judgement or rush to any conclusions. All people are different and all people have different opinions. It is our part as people and as Americans to respect these differing opinions. It is not until these opinions begin to harm groups or individuals that they should be confronted with distaste. 



Haidt, Jonathan. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics and Religion. New York: Pantheon Books, 2012.