Republicans Don't Understand Democrats—And Democrats Don't Understand Republicans

[detltu]

Interesting article in the Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...=pocket-newtab


I thought this was particularly interesting:
"Perhaps because institutions of higher learning tend to be dominated by liberals, Republicans who have gone to college are not more likely to caricature their ideological adversaries than those who dropped out of high school. But among Democrats, education seems to make the problem much worse. Democrats who have a high-school degree suffer from a greater perception gap than those who don’t. Democrats who went to college harbor greater misunderstandings than those who didn’t. And those with a postgrad degree have a way more skewed view of Republicans than anybody else."

[techman05]

The longer the indoctrination, the less you question it.

[Guisslapp]

Would you agree that more educated people tend to read more news?

If so, then it seems like the news media is mostly responsible for the “perception gap” rather than the educational system.

I could probably count on one hand the number of times either “Republican” or “Democrat” was mentioned by a teacher, and that includes law school.

[techman05]

I can’t say that I remember Rep or Dem being mentioned in class, but I had very few professors who taught without letting us know their political leanings. Most to the far left, except in the business school. I was at Tech in early 2000’s so I can’t speak to before or after that.

[Guisslapp]

I can’t say that I remember Rep or Dem being mentioned in class, but I had very few professors who taught without letting us know their political leanings. Most to the far left, except in the business school. I was at Tech in early 2000’s so I can’t speak to before or after that.

But how does “Letting you know their political leanings” translate into the “perception gap.” The “perception gap” is the caricature of what the OTHER party believes.

That sort of messaging comes from the left wing and right wing media.

[techman05]

I feel like political leanings are presented as fact and non negotiable in many classrooms. Kids believe professors and give them credibility simply because of their position. After long enough, you can believe anything.

[PawDawg]

I feel like political leanings are presented as fact and non negotiable in many classrooms. Kids believe professors and give them credibility simply because of their position. After long enough, you can believe anything.

...like the reason the south fought northern aggression. Makes for a better story when race is at the center.

...then 100 years later the democrats are holding back race relations.

...then 50 years later the democrats are blaming the republicans for bad race relations.

[detltu]

Would you agree that more educated people tend to read more news?

If so, then it seems like the news media is mostly responsible for the “perception gap” rather than the educational system.

I could probably count on one hand the number of times either “Republican” or “Democrat” was mentioned by a teacher, and that includes law school.

I agree that there are definitely other factors besides education at play. I agree, I never heard democrat or republican mentioned by a teacher. Neither Tech nor LSU were particularly politically indoctrinating ( at least partially a function of studying engineering), but Tulane was pretty rampant with liberal ideology. There were definitely political/ideological discussions about fairness, equality, morality, diversity, ethics etc that were enough let me know where most of my professors stood politically.

I did find it interesting that they said conservatives were not more likely to misrepresent their opponents. They didn't say they were better, just not worse. It's a funny way of wording it, but interesting.

Hard sciences tend to be a little more balanced on the political spectrum than other departments. i would suspect business would be a little better than some of the liberal arts. I did not feel like I was indoctrinated in my higher education, but my classmates and professors in business at Tulane were certainly more liberal than my classmates at Tech or LSU. It has probably influenced me at least in some respects.

[Guisslapp]

I agree that there are definitely other factors besides education at play. I agree, I never heard democrat or republican mentioned by a teacher. Neither Tech nor LSU were particularly politically indoctrinating ( at least partially a function of studying engineering), but Tulane was pretty rampant with liberal ideology. There were definitely political/ideological discussions about fairness, equality, morality, diversity, ethics etc that were enough let me know where most of my professors stood politically.

I did find it interesting that they said conservatives were not more likely to misrepresent their opponents. They didn't say they were better, just not worse. It's a funny way of wording it, but interesting.

Hard sciences tend to be a little more balanced on the political spectrum than other departments. i would suspect business would be a little better than some of the liberal arts. I did not feel like I was indoctrinated in my higher education, but my classmates and professors in business at Tulane were certainly more liberal than my classmates at Tech or LSU. It has probably influenced me at least in some respects.

Tulane attracts a lot of people from the Northeast. I didn’t think the law school was very political. The study of law is too granular, too fact-specific, for that.

[brtransplant]

I entered Tech as a moderate. I graduated as a staunch, Reagan conservative. I won't name names, but being exposed to a few liberal Tech professors was all I needed to show me which way was the right way for me.

[TYLERTECHSAS]

Tulane attracts a lot of people from the Northeast. I didn’t think the law school was very political. The study of law is too granular, too fact-specific, for that.

That's pretty funny right there!

[Guisslapp]

That's pretty funny right there!

Was your law school experience different?

[TYLERTECHSAS]

Tulane attracts a lot of people from the Northeast. I didn’t think the law school was very political. The study of law is too granular, too fact-specific, for that.

That's pretty funny right there!

Was your law school experience different?

Thank the Good Lord I didn't go to law school. I have plenty of Christian lawyer buddies and a few that aren't (Tyler is a huge hub for lawyers). They will tell you immediately what a biased and liberal stance their professors took in law classes. Yes they might state or have you study the facts of cases and the law behind it. But the bottom line was they also tried to cut from your brain those conservative morals and life guidelines which were instilled and formed you as well as what you were taught or experienced growing up. If you didn't get totally confused about your beliefs and personal "lines in the sand" as a undergrad; then law school surely would attempt to mess you up.