The Tribal Effect in Politics

Understanding Why We Fight and How to Resolve It

The state of American politics has become alarming over the past few years. When I was in High School, if a student talked about another student the same way many politicians talk about each other, there is no doubt the student would have been given detention. Politicians are supposed to be mature adults and the leaders of our country, yet they have been behaving like the bully’s we all knew in high school. It shouldn’t be a mystery to anyone why things don’t get done in Washington D.C. when we see how Republicans and Democrats talk to one another other. So why have politicians become so nasty toward each other over the years?

One reason is money influencing politics but that is another topic; let’s focus only on the Democratic and Republican parties. These are obviously the two most popular political parties in the US, and because they are constantly at battle with each other over policies and ideas, it has created a tribal effect. This is similar to a rivalry between two sports teams, except in this case there seems to be a lot less respect between the two. In tribe’s and rivalries, if an individual were to switch to the other side they are labeled a traitor and despised for it. We are taught at an early age that no one likes a traitor, and this unfortunately carries over into politics.

Whichever political party one belongs too, most likely their family and closest friends share this same political view (of course there are exceptions). Constantly being around people who we agree with doesn’t challenge our views but only re confirms to us are view is correct, plus they like the people who share their view so it is hard to imagine people we like and admire could be wrong as well. But when we suddenly become engaged in a conversation that challenges our views and we find ourselves struggling to defend them, the tribal effect kicks in and no matter how sound the other argument is we tend to deny it so we can stay on the same team/tribe.

Many times the one who can’t defend their stance on an issue tends to be the one who ends the conversation and is done either on purpose or subconsciously in order to avoid getting to a point where they have to admit they are wrong. It’s sad people will continue to stick with a political party when they can’t defend their parties’ views when challenged. Many forget that whether Republican or Democrat we all are on the same team which is the United States.

When people don’t realize that both parties are on the same team, they can become willing to bring down everyone including their own party just so the other side doesn’t “win”. This is completely irrational, but this is what the tribal effect can do.

This doesn't mean each party shouldn’t fight for what they believe is best for the country. Fighting for what we believe in is a good thing, but it is how we approach fighting these disagreements that is important. It should be done with honest debate, facts, logic, and fairness. We should be asking ourselves, do we really want to win an argument if we have to do it dishonestly and by misrepresenting the other side? Winning like this isn’t a win for either party except for their ego. Winning with bad ideas and policies only hurts the country in the long run.

This is where the country is at now. In the past, too many bad ideas have won and people are starting to see that Republican ideas are losing the debate. Because republicans are losing the debate they have resorted to name calling, and distorting the truth. They are painting the other side as evil in hopes that the public will become afraid to vote Democrat. Just like in any argument, whenever one is losing and refuses to admit it they usually resort to name calling. Once one sides resorts to name calling and facts no longer matter, there is little to no chance they will ever admit the other side has a valid argument.

When one side can no longer debate their losing policies they are left with only attacking anything the other side does (even though many times ideas they use to support they now end up attacking). For examples, President Obama used Mitt Romney’s health care plan as a guide for creating his own and because a Democrat liked his plan, Romney was then against it. Another example, Republicans say government doesn’t create jobs but attacks President Obama for low job numbers, but when job numbers increase they go back to government doesn't create jobs. It doesn’t make much sense, but when we understand how the tribal affect works it suddenly makes a lot of sense! Understanding the underlying reason for our disagreements is the first step we can take to resolving them.