ESSENTIALS FOR POSITIVE CHANGE
The goal of this website is to give people who might be open to changing their minds about political partisanship some insights about pride/humility, mental health, psychology and relationships. Then, if they are so inclined, those open-minded people can apply these concepts to their own lives and politics. It is an idealistic goal to be sure, but it is no more idealistic than loving your neighbor as yourself.
Lacking an idealistic vision, positive change in America’s social/political environment will not happen. Unless a majority of voters are willing to accept that they share responsibility for division by voting on the basis of appealing rhetoric, policies, economics and prideful party loyalty instead of voting on the basis of political candidates’ good character traits (i.e. mental health, psychology, humility, etc.), change will not happen.
Conventional explanations (e.g., economics, media silos, policy disagreements, gerrymandering, etc.) of the partisan divide identify structural triggers but miss the emotional/psychological/moral fuel of politics: pride manifest as self-righteous certainty. Pride causes all political groups/parties to view their ideology not just as correct, but as morally superior. This elevates tribal/political conflicts from policy disputes to existential battles—”us vs. evil”— which amplifies intolerance and raises the rhetoric temperature on both sides of the political divide. This thinking is not just unhealthy. It is also a terminal disease in the life of democracy. Fine-sounding exhortations to “tamp down the rhetoric” are meaningless, inconsequential, panaceas for democracy’s demise. Here are two truths about American democracy worth considering:
Hurtful, divisive, partisan rhetoric will not abate until the hearts and minds of both Democrats and Republicans change.
Unchecked partisan pride offers no avenue for love, mutual understanding and respect that leads to unity and bi-partisan cooperation necessary for good, democratic government.
Exposure of America’s self-righteous pride offers a missing, explanatory layer of analysis of hyper partisanship that is overlooked in academia, journalism and political strategizing. Some mental health experts have tried to fill that gap in books and media that attract limited circulation in the American electorate. That means professional expertise on mental health and psychology relevant to politicians has little to no impact on the voting public. The purpose of this website is to educate the voting public with knowledge about mental health and psychology in the context of politics with hopes that a majority of voters will engage in serious self-analysis about their pride and how it influences their party loyalties and voting habits.
America’s dirty little secret is that Democrats and Republicans use pride to solidify party loyalists and evangelize new members. Republicans frame pride as reclaiming lost status—”Make America Great Again” and resistance to “line cutters” (e.g. immigrants, DEIA beneficiaries, educated elites, etc.), whom they blame for white working-class decline, by converting shame to tribal loyalty via authoritarian appeals tied to R-WA/SDO. Democrats on the other hand, lean on a prideful narrative of moral enlightenment exercised through politics. By casting themselves as the party that “stands against bigotry and hate,” Democrats reinforce a personal, positive attitude of elevated intellectual/moral status that resonates affirmatively with educated urban voters, but is interpreted negatively as exclusionary, elitist, and condescending by working‑class voters who align themselves with President Trump and MAGA. This interpretation casts them as victims of Democrats’ policies and elitism.
Although Democratic rhetoric is designed to be egalitarian, it is perceived as contempt — not inclusion by MAGA. Republicans see multi-cultural Democrats as know-it-all teachers who presume to embody the knowledge and standing to grade the morals of Trump and his followers as bigoted and shameful. In their pride, Democrats are blind to the reality that their divisive rhetoric fuels the partisan divide instead of closing it.
Scholars of “political sectarianism” note that the Democrats’ moralized rhetoric intensifies perceptions that Trump and his followers are not just wrong but morally inferior. Of course, this rhetoric increases anger and defensiveness among those being judged and contributes to the widespread perception among Republicans that Democrats see themselves as “the moral party” and MAGA conservatives are bad people.
Trump followers view Democratic moralizing as unprovoked shaming of their values and identity. As victims of Democrats’ judgments, Trump’s followers, see no personal responsibility for self-reflection. Ditto for Democrats who see America as a victim of Trump’s words and actions. For failure of either side to admit culpability, America is in the midst of an escalating civil war of words. But, because no one remembers who fired the first shot, neither side takes responsibility for starting it.
If Democrats are as smart and moral as they imagine themselves to be, it is up to them to take the high road that leads to change. This road has four steps:
- Study Donald Trump: Understanding the Man and His Followers with a mind focused on what Democrats have said and done historically to alienate Trump’s followers.
- Admit to themselves that their historical rhetoric created the political environment that made the emergence of Donald Trump and MAGA possible.
- Admit to themselves, American voters and the world that their prideful rhetoric is divisive.
- Look for ways to incorporate “love your neighbor” principles into campaign rhetoric and policy debates.
Democrats will criticize this process as placing undo accountability on them. This is a fair criticism. Both parties should be willing to admit culpability. The arguments against this perspective are found in Donald Trump: Understanding the Man and His Followers. Here are some takeaways that justify Democrats taking the high road:
- They are guilty of pride. They need to own it.
- The fact that Trump and Republicans are also guilty of pride does not excuse Democrats from doing the right thing of admitting their own pride.
- The fact that Trump and his followers are handicapped by fear and shame creates an opportunity for Democrats to practice the egalitarianism they so eagerly preach. If they are champions of people who have disabilities, they should not withhold grace and mercy from Trump and Republicans just because they are judged to be ignorant bigots and fools. Consider the arguments against judging in this link.
- The fact that Democrats are not handicapped by fear and shame to the same degree as Trump and his followers are handicapped, confirms that Democrats are uniquely equipped to practice loving their neighbor by practicing the following principles:
| PRINCIPLES OF LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR | |
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Clearly these are aspirational ways of thinking and acting. Some will be easier to grasp and apply than others. The good news for Christians, however, is that these attitudes and behaviors satisfy God’s commandment to love one another. The genius of the bible is that anyone can follow these principles anytime, anywhere without being labeled as “religious.” Most people who practice these principles or observe these attitudes and behaviors in others will not associate them with the bible or religion. More likely they will be associated with good character which is a reward worth the sacrifice of pride.
Only a little mental work is required to imagine what America, and indeed the world, would be like if more people integrated even a few of these principles into their everyday lives and political lives. The questions people who want to make America whole must answer are these:
- What sacrifices are you willing to make to make America whole?
- Are you willing to make an effort to build these principles into your character?
- Are you willing to share these principles with others?
- Does your pride stop you from admitting that these principles are not now part of your character?
Here are six famous quotes about character worth considering when thinking about sacrificing pride:
Thomas Merton: “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.”
Mark Twain: “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”
Martin Luther King Jr.: “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower: “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”
Ezra Taft Benson: “Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.”
Confucius: “Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.”
C.S. Lewis: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”
Whether individual Democrats are willing to humbly set aside their pride in favor of making America whole remains to be seen. Whether the Democratic party is willing to acknowledge that the principles of good character are absent from its party platform remains to be seen. Whether candidates for office are willing to make these principles part of their campaign rhetoric remains to be seen. What is known for sure, however, is that social/political tensions in America will not subside until people of all political persuasions adopt these principles.
What is also known for sure is that people of all political persuasions who identify as Christian or Jews should be leading the charge to advance these principles. Those who do advance these principles could be called “true patriots.” Those who don’t advance these principles should be called hypocrites.