Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Polls show that Democrats and Republicans believe they have less in common now than they did 17 years ago. In 2007, around half of Democrats (46%) and Republicans (43%) thought those on the opposite side of the aisle shared their values and goals. However, a 2024 poll found that only 31% of Democrats and 26% of Republicans believe they share the same values and goals as those in the other political party.
The widening political divide makes addressing many of America's pressing issues harder. It has also created a political climate in which the parties favor extremists, and people in the political center feel they have no one to represent them.
A new study from the British Journal of Social Psychology has identified one of the major reasons people are becoming increasingly divided over politics. The good news is that it points to a solution.
Why are Americans so politically divided?
According to the study, one of the most significant and disturbing aspects of the political divide is the belief that the other side is less-than-human. This happens when someone’s relationship with their party evolves from simple identification to political narcissism. Political narcissists are emotionally involved with their party and have an “unrealistic belief about the unparalleled greatness” of who they are.
These people can't admit to their party's faults and believe that everything the other side does is wrong.
People often become political narcissists when they feel dehumanized by the other side. This leads them to believe the other side is less-than-human, too.
“Our findings suggest that dehumanization is not exclusive to any one political ideology,” one of the study’s authors, Marta Marchlewska, an associate professor and head of the Political Cognition Lab at the Polish Academy of Sciences, told PsyPost. “Both liberals and conservatives may dehumanize their opponents when they identify with their political group in a narcissistic way. Collective narcissism stems from self-related psychological issues, such as anxious attachment styles and low personal control, as well as group-related concerns like perceived in-group disadvantage.”
The interesting takeaway from the study is that when one group or political leader lashes out at the other in a dehumanizing way, they are pushing for the other side to see them as less than human, too. So, in a way, dehumanizing the other side robs you of your humanity as well.
People in a voting booth.via Canva/Photos
The good news is that the study found that those who have little contact with people from the other side are more likely to become political narcissists. That means that the more we interact with people we disagree with, the more humanity we will begin to see in one another. The study also notes that many times, when people adopt extreme views, it can be more of a symptom of their insecurities than their feelings about the other party.
“It’s crucial to recognize the role of psychological factors in shaping political attitudes and behaviors,” Marchlewska told PsyPost. “By acknowledging our biases and understanding the motivations behind our political identities, we can foster healthier dialogues. I encourage readers to reflect on their identification with political groups and how it might influence their perceptions of others. This awareness could lead to more empathetic interactions, even amidst differing viewpoints.”
To prevent this partisan animosity from escalating, people must step out of their bubbles and engage with those on the other side of the aisle. You don’t have to talk about your thoughts on abortion, immigration, or how much the rich should pay in taxes. But socializing with people with whom you disagree exposes you to each other’s common humanity, which can help bridge the gap on the current divide. Once America's major political parties devolve to the point where their supporters become blind to the opposition's humanity, they open the door to committing the worst atrocities.
A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
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An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
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Woman gives toddler a bath Canva
An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.