We have a new poll pointing toward something I’ve long suspected. Sure, it’s an oversimplification that doesn’t include factors like fundamentalism or being rich, but my half-baked theory goes this way: the easier it is for you to think of human suffering in abstract instead of personal terms, the more likely you are to support extremely conservative ideas.
What I mean is this–even hardcore conservatives tend to soften their views on gaybashing when, say, their daughter turns out to be gay. Not to mention advocating the nuking of the Middle East until they perhaps sit next to a very nice Lebanese gentleman on a plane. And they don’t exactly then wish for his death.
The more intuitive your empathy, the more likely you are to be a progressive, IMHO. And the more time you spend listening to people who aren’t like you, the more likely you are to be empathetic. So why is it even a controversy when Obama says he would–gasp!–talk to our enemies? If we aren’t careful, we might actually come to some sort of understanding or make diplomatic progress. And why talk when you can watch foreign people blow up on the teevee?
But even half of Republicans were onboard with the talking thing. Perhaps we’re only truly nuts when we’ve been ginned up by propaganda from the Bush professionals.
Here’s the survey:
