Let us learn about each other

Did you know that we are born with certain traits ?
These traits lead us to have either a Liberal or a Conservative outlook in life.

These same traits are seen all over the world - in the US, The Middle East, Asia and in Africa.

Prof Jonathan Haidt, a Social Psychologist has done a lot of studies on this (see a link to his Ted Talk in the reference section)

According to Prof Haidt, we are born with a basic set of values.

Conservatives seem to emphasize five Values :

• Avoid Harm and Protect the weak 
• Be Fair
• Respect Authority - this is a good trait as long as the folks in a position of Authority are good people.  Otherwise Conservatives can be mislead by a person they respect.
• Group Loyalty - This may lead a person to abandon right and wrong in order to safe guard the interest of the group - just now gun control comes to mind
• Purity - in the eyes of a conservative this is why they find it hard to accept issues like Gay rights and abortions

Liberals seem to Emphasize Five Values :

• Avoid Harm and Protect the weak  
• Be fair
• Instead of authority, they believe in equal power
• Instead of Group Loyalty, they are willing to invite others in - Immigration policies come into mind
• Purity - just now this is manifested as a purity of the food we eat - issues with GMO foods come to mind

This has been the moral truth for centuries.


Each individual looks at life through their own set of values.
And each individual ALWAYS thinks that THEY are right and the other person is wrong - that is our default.

So, why does it feel like there is more anger and hatred among us now ?

Well, that is because something HAS changed...


What HAS changed is that a lot of organizations mostly in the US have tried and (in my opinion) succeeded in defining folks with a different ideology as 'THE ENEMY'

This has created an anger and a hatred that is destroying ALL of us
Both as Individuals
And as a Nation

Scientist have found that the part of the brain that is most active during this time is NOT the "reasoning" part but the 'fight or flight' part of the brain

That is why most of these conversations end up real quickly in arguments and heated fights ...

We are not able to make good decisions if our main emotion is anger.
As most religions state, the best decisions are made when we are calm and neutral

Now that you understand why this is happening to us, let us do something to reverse this.

And Unite the United State of America and the world  ...

Another concept worth visiting 

Value set of a Warrior  and a Caregiver are different

According to Prof Haigt Caregivers value Compassion, Liberty and Fairness.

Whereas Warriors value all 6 equally - That is Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity, Compassion, Liberty and Fairness.

Policy making and the concept of Strict Father and Nurturing Parent 

A Strict Father is the bread winner. So he needs to be strong.  He needs to be strict.  And punish the kids when they do bad things.  The wife’s role is to take care of the family and stay home.  The wife is not an equal partner in this relationship.

Most Warriors (Conservatives) believe in a Strict Father model of parenting.

This would explain why the Conservatives do not support equal pay and a safety net for the poor.  In their mind the poor needs to be punished for not taking care of them selves.

A Nurturing Parent thinks that the kids are vulnerable and they need to be protected.  And both parents have to work together as a team.

Most Caregivers (Progressives) think this way.

That is why they believe in equal pay and safety nets.

In my opinion the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

So what should we do ?
How can we resolve this issue ?

The SOLUTION  is Simple

We need to UNITE and bring people with different political ideologies together 

And here is one way we can do that 

We need to share this knowledge with everyone we know.
One person at a time.

Please click here to learn the 6 steps that you could take to have this conversation.

Yes it is an uphill battle
But it is a battle we can win

We have to have this conversation with one person at a time

Together we can create a ground swell that will be hard to defeat

And that my friends is the only way we will win this battle ...

References
1. TED talk from Prof Haidt
http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html