None of those assumptions about me are correct. But such skewed, partisan views of the world reflect results from national polling. In 2018, Axios completed a poll by SurveyMonkey. Among Democrats, 61% saw Republicans as “racist/bigoted/sexist,” and 31% of Republicans said they view Democrats in the same light. About half of Democrats described Republicans as ignorant (54%) and spiteful (44%). Likewise, about half of Republicans described Democrats as ignorant (49%) and spiteful (54%). About one-fifth of Democrats identified Republicans as evil, and about the same share of Republicans (23%) thought Democrats are evil. Of the 22% who provided open-ended descriptions of Republicans, responses included: selfish, greedy, corrupt, spineless, fearful and bad. Of the 26% who provided open-ended descriptions of Democrats, responses included: socialist, angry, hypocritical, uninformed, power-hungry and violent.
As a student of political science, this data tells me that when you are in one political tribe, it is all too easy to believe or assume the worst about the other political tribe. Tribalism can even go so far as to make people believe those in the other political tribe are the enemy.
This level of tribalism threatens our democracy and potentially our survival as a nation. Both political parties are to blame for pushing these narratives and assumptions. Political parties used to be moderating institutions. Now they both energize their primary bases by stoking division.
