From “The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy” by Christopher Beem
You may have heard of several studies that document the steeply increasing number of parents who would be unhappy if their child married a partisan from the other side. But did you know that among both Republicans and Democrats, the percentage of such objectors is now higher for partisanship than it is for religion or race? More-oever, the more strongly partisan an individual is, the more likely they are to express this kind of animus. A recent Pew study found that “partisans who follow government and politics most closely are more likely than less attentive partisans to give a cold rating to the other party – and a warm rating to their own.” Strong partisans are not just cold to the other side; they have a visceral distrust and dislike of them. A study by Patrick Miller and Pamela Conover shows that “Democrats and Republicans with strong identities perceive the opposing party as rivals who are fundamentally immoral and cannot be trusted; likewise, they are enraged at each other for ‘destroying American democracy.”