The United States government was originally created as a “government of the people, for the people, by the people” as stated by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address, meaning that legislation was to be created and government was to be run in order to benefit American citizens. With the creation of a bipartisan political system, some citizens have begun to feel that over time, certain parties do not represent and benefit them. Increased polarization and support for one party over another has resulted, leaving politicians under the increased pressure to follow party lines, even if what they believe does not completely match up. Empathy must play a role in helping politicians as well as voters determine what issues they feel need to be addressed. When each side empathizes for different groups of people and emphasizes different problems, increased polarization comes about. As a result, I have the following questions I intended to answer: When looking at this increasingly polarized political atmosphere in the United States, what are the conditions that cause opposing parties to empathize with certain groups but not others? What are the underlying causes that prevent each party from understanding and empathizing with the other’s point of view? Can it be determined when empathy become more important that party alignment, and if so, when? How does empathy when applied to the political scene differ between these extremely polarized politicians and generally more moderate voters?
MLA Works Cited
Caprara, Gian Vittorio, et al. “Personality Profiles and Political Parties.” Political Psychology, vol. 20, no. 1, 1999, pp. 175–197.
Chopik, William J., Konrath, Sara H. Political Orientation Moderates Worldview Defense in Response to Osama Bin Laden’s Death. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, vol. 22, no. 4, Nov. 2016, pp. 396-400.
Debrosse, R., Cooper, M. E., Taylor, D. M., de, l. S., & Crush, J. “Fundamental rights in the Rainbow Nation: Intergroup Contact, Threat, and Support for Newcomers’ Rights in Post-Apartheid South Africa.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, vol. 22, no. 4, Nov. 2016, pp. 367-379.
Lalami, Laila. “The GOP Empathy Gap.” Nation, vol. 303, no. 18, 31 Oct. 2016, pp. 12-13.
May, R. J. “Class, Ethnicity, Regionalism and Political Parties.” State and Society in Papua New Guinea: The First Twenty-Five Years, ANU Press, 2004, pp. 127–146.
Additional Works Cited
Lincoln, Abraham. “The Gettysburg Address.” 19 Nov. 1863.