Why Can’t We Talk to Each Other?
America is in an ongoing crisis. Right now it’s expressing itself concerning families trying to immigrate to the US and the way they’re being treated by the authorities. And on this, as on many other issues, it seems that people can’t even talk to each other. They can’t possibly understand how a person with any serious morality, with good intentions, and with access to accurate information could possibly be on the other side. Here’s how.
I walk through my understanding of the chain of events, and then break down the competing moral frameworks functioning on both sides of the issue.
Moral Foundations Theory
My approach here depends primarily on the theories presented by Jonathan Haidt in his book “The Righteous Mind.”, which I highly recommend reading! But if you don’t have time for the whole book, below is the ‘TED Talk’, TLDR version of this theory.
Please Leave the Nazis Out of This
The episode ends with a plea to stop comparing current events to the Nazis, an explanation of why the comparison is both false and not useful, and some alternate historical analogies that hit closer to the mark.