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Political Irrationality Quotes

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Political Irrationality Quotes

“The Mystery of Futile Debate: Why do we engage endlessly in futile political debates? We can argue politics forever, with nary a hint of progress. The likelihood of anyone changing his or her mind as the result of a political argument is negligible, but we debate anyway. Whether on street corners or on "Meet the Press," political discussions go on and on, and are only rarely resolved by polite compromise. It would be astonishing if a presidential candidate were to decide, mid-debate, that the other candidate was right: CANDIDATE: You know, Senator, I never looked at it that way before, but you're actually completely right! Since it's such an important point, I guess I'll just concede the whole election to you right now -- you are definitely the better candidate. Congratulations! If a candidate actually did say something like that, he or she would soon face overpowering citizen anger** -- at having violated the unspoken rule that debates are supposed to be futile. ** Not to mention, a free one-way ticket to a psychiatric institution.”

Political DebatePolitical IrrationalityFutile Debate
Author:Guillermo Jimenez
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“I sensed that if I were ever to meet [Senator Orrin] Hatch face-to-face there would be little that we could agree upon. There was something about watching Hatch that reminded me of unpleasant, futile political arguments I had had in my life. I wondered whether such political disagreements did not issue from underlying, perhaps even innate. characteristics. Certainly, experience teaches us that when we encounter another person whom we instinctively dislike, constructive political dialogue is not likely to follow. Humans can intuitively sense through a variety of subtle clues (i.e., dress, accent, gestures) when another person possesses a mix of cultural and psychological characteristics that is so substantially different to our own that political discord is also likely. Put otherwise, a liberal can usually smell a conservative, and vice versa. Moreover, the smell is not a pleasant one. -- Red Genes, Blue Genes: Exposing Political Irrationality”

PoliticsIrrationalityPartisanshipPolitical Irrationality
Author:Guillermo Jimenez
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“Our certitude and vehemence in political argument are way out of proportion to our knowledge...In politics, everybody is always very sure that they are right. But they simply can't be. When the Democrats and Republicans take opposed positions, they can't both be right. Thus, on any critical policy debate, about half the electorate and politicians are completely wrong, yet are blithely and majestically assured that they are right.”

Political BeliefsPolitical Irrationality
Book:Red Genes, Blue Genes: Exposing Political Irrationality
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“The conflict between left and right in modern republics is a sort of perpetual-motion mechanism and negative spiral at the same time. When we support political parties, it is regrettable more than just a matter of adopting certain political beliefs. We are also expected to agree that our party's beliefs are better than those held by the other party. Feelings of hostility and superiority are an inevitable byproduct of partisan competition. The media encourages representatives of both sides to vent their emotions, because this sells newspapers and boosts ratings. When we hear that other disagree viscerally with us, we tend to return the feeling of emotional dislike.”

PartisanshipPolitical IrrationalityPolitical Hostility
Book:Red Genes, Blue Genes: Exposing Political Irrationality
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“The biggest cost of our innate group-bias is that it sustains America's two-party duopoly. The Democrats exploit hostility toward Republicans in order to monopolize liberals. Republicans exploit hatred of liberals to monopolize conservatives. Americans become like like the citizens of two, parallel Soviet states, with most voters turning out at every election to vote for the same party they did in the previous election. Consequently, our Congressional incumbents are re-elected at the Soviet-style rate of 98%,”

PartisanshipPolitical Irrationality
Author:Guillermo Jimenez
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