MARTINEZ, BYLINE: With the presidential election just weeks away, it can be difficult to talk about politics, even with the people you love. Political polarization can cause difficulties in our relationships and can actually harm our health. So if you don’t want to emphasize the political divide too much, NPR’s Alison Aubrey has you covered. So, Alison, when I talk about politics with my family, it’s not even about picking sides. It’s about facts and just debating what’s true and what’s not.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: Yes.
MARTINEZ: So the debate rages on. we love each other How will this affect my health?
Aubrey: That’s right. This means that fighting with family members or feeling cut off from neighbors can increase feelings of anxiety. And beyond that, one of the most interesting studies shows that people who feel more removed from their state’s political norms are more likely to report feeling worse. So liberal-minded people who live in conservative areas, or Republicans who live in blue states where they feel isolated, report more illnesses.
MARTINEZ: Physically, are you more sick? I mean, is it true?
Aubrey: Yes, I spoke to Tim Fraser at Cornell University. He’s at the back of the lab. He and his collaborators found that people who felt politically isolated reported feeling sick an additional two days a month.
Tim Fraser: Because if you feel politically isolated, you’re one step less likely to interact with your neighbors, right? We think it’s probably your social capital, your strong ties to the social ties that bind you together.
AUBREY: So political isolation can lead to less connectedness and perhaps less social support, and this is true across the political spectrum, whether you’re Republican or Democrat.
MARTINEZ: So given how heated this election was, is it possible to bring people together?
Aubrey: Well, there are a lot of people trying to bridge the gap. One of the groups we talk to is Braver Angels. They are a national organization and we met them at the Oregon County Fair. So they were inviting people to talk about the issues that really divide Americans. Now, let me set the scene. They set up booths like a carnival game, and someone is trying to spin the roulette wheel, but instead of lucky numbers, they end up getting a problem. Let’s listen.
Robin Glover: Okay. abortion. Gun control.
AUBREY: It was Saturday night, and Robin Glover came forward to try it out.
Grover: Turn, turn. Okay, gun control.
AUBREY: So what happens next is a dialogue, led by two Braver Angels volunteers. People who lean toward the Democratic Party…
Sue Starry: I’m Sue Starry.
AUBREY: And then from the other side.
Elizabeth Christensen: I’m Elizabeth Christensen. I am the red co-chair. I mean, I’d probably vote Republican, usually would.
Martinez: Red and blue, same booth.
Aubrey: That’s right. And they both joined for similar reasons. Ms. Christensen had a very difficult time with her family after the 2020 election.
Christensen: I was shocked and shook to my core when I learned that my sister and father had voted differently than me.
AUBREY: So Sue Starry got caught up in it with her political relationship with her son.
STAEHLI: We were on opposite sides of every issue for a while, and he got pretty mad at me.
AUBREY: She says politics has become very toxic.
STAEHLI: What drove me to Braver Angels was a complete departure from the politics of ridicule.
AUBREY: You know, we both say it feels good to do something to bridge the gap. So on this night at the expo, they really tried to help Robin think about gun control.
STAEHLI: If you had to place yourself on a continuum here, where would you place yourself?
Aubrey: So Robin is from rural Oregon. And she asked what was more important: protecting public safety or protecting the right to protect oneself.
Grover: I feel like both are very important, right? we can protect ourselves. But obviously, I think public safety is just as important as personal safety. So I think we have to go in the middle.
STAEHLI: Right in the middle.
AUBREY: So, as we’re talking about these issues like this, A, I find that a lot of Braver Angels volunteers, whether they’re red or blue, tend to be in the middle, like Robin. They can see both sides.
MARTINEZ: Yes. i knew it. I mean, there’s no way it can’t be true. I mean, I think that’s the point of this.
Aubrey: Yeah. And some scholars who study political divisions understand this. I spoke with Tania Israel. She is a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara and author of Facing The Fracture.
Tania Israel: We’re not as divided as we think. So much research over the decades has actually exaggerated our perception of how polarized we are and how far apart there is between our views that this It shows that Democrats and Republicans are thought to be much further apart on issues than they actually are.
MARTINEZ: Okay, but here’s the thing, Allison, anyone who has a screen in front of them, anyone who watches social media, television, political ads, if that’s all there is to it, you think, oh my. Deaf, you would think. , That’s impossible. Everyone is as divided as possible.
Aubrey: That’s right. That’s why Tania Israel recommends limiting media and social media that reinforces this us-versus-them perspective and kind of conflict. And remember that some of the most vitriolic comments come from people who are intentionally trying to add fuel to the fire. So the value of the Braver Angels model is that it allows people to interact face-to-face. This makes it easier to see the humanity in others.
Israel: The more we can interact with real people and the complex ideas and experiences that we all have, the more we will understand how truly complex and thoughtful people are.
AUBREY: So there’s something I want you to try, A.
MARTINEZ: Okay, I’m ready for practice. It has grown. It’s loose. I’m ready.
Aubrey: Okay. Okay. In other words, this is an exercise Braver Angels call “inner depolarization.” So it’s easy to overlook how much judgment we all carry personally. So to assess this, ask yourself the following questions: How often do you bond or joke with friends about “lunatics” on other political sides? You know, for those out of the blue, anti-immigrant or Words like bible bashing are often used. Those who lean red tend to label the other side as elitist or unpatriotic. But these labels can be off-putting, right? Especially if they don’t fully reflect a person’s perspective, they can raise the temperature. Therefore, if you stop using labels, you may open the door to connection with people on the other side.
MARTINEZ: NPR’s Allison Aubrey. If you’d like to join the Stressless newsletter series, visit npr.org/stressless. Thank you, Alison.
Aubrey: Thank you, A, nice to have you here.
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