“I
want to thank all of you, because
there’s no excuses in life, and
I’m not going to make excuses now
because we put up one heck of a
fight.”
With these
words, Herschel Walker conceded the
Georgia Senate run-off. He also echoed
the calm, often gracious,
concession speeches made across the
country a few weeks earlier by
candidates of both parties.
As we enter
the holiday season, can extend this
political calm? Research shows we can.
Those concession speeches are a key.
A team of
psychologists and neuroscientists
recently reviewed studies about how to
reduce partisan animosity — those
negative feelings we have towards people
in the other party. The team
identified three science-backed areas of
potential action: thoughts,
relationships, and institutions.
Regarding our
thoughts, simply learning more about the
other party can help, because partisan
animosity distorts how we see others. We
think members of the other party dislike
us more than they actually do, and we
paint an unrealistically extreme picture
of them. In a recent study, Republicans
believed 30 percent of Democrats are
atheist or agnostic. The reality? Only
eight percent of Democrats identify that
way. Democrats believed that 38 percent
of Republicans earn over $250,000. The
facts? Only two percent do.
Good
tools
exist to help us overcome
those misconceptions.
Heineken’s compelling “Worlds
Apart” Video shows
ideologically
mis-matched pairs connecting
across their divides. Beyond
Conflict’s “America’s Divided
Mind” shorter Video is
a
great illustration of how far
off we are in describing people
from the opposite party. Both
provide a reality injection to
decrease our misperceptions of
the other side.
Regarding
relationships,
the holidays offer
opportunities for cross-party
dialogue. Science indicates
these conversations can go
well, especially if we
prepare. We can think in
advance about what we have in
common with the other person
and start with that. We can
consider how we want the
conversation to go and agree
ground rules together. These
agreements often include
listening carefully and
seeking to understand rather
than
convert.
Regarding
institutions, we can also work to create
a more welcoming political culture.
Those concession speeches have gotten us
started.
One
Study revealed
that
even just seeing a warm
interaction between political
leaders helped reduce
political animosity. Study
participants were shown
versions of a made-up news
story about a dinner meeting
between GOP Senator Mitch
McConnell and Democratic
Senator Charles Schumer.
One version
reported a friendly meeting, with the
senators laughing together and parting
with a hug.
The other
version reported table-side hostility.
The versions also reported different
policy outcomes for the meal – either
agreeing to compromises on important
immigration issues or failing to reach a
compromise. The end result? Seeing the
senators get along made study
participants feel more warmly about the
other party – even more than when the
senators reached a policy compromise.
How our leaders treat each other
matters.
Let’s
use
the holiday season to build on
this calm. Watch one of those
short videos and chat about it
with someone from the other
party. Then, together, applaud
moments when our political
leaders demonstrate mutual
respect. Our political culture
is ours to create.
