Participants were privately asked their views on three politically heated topics: climate change, affirmative action, and same-sex partnerships. Then they were put into groups with others from their town, and asked to discuss the issues as a group. 14 Before these discussions, as one might expect, the people from Boulder tended to espouse left-wing views while the citizens of Colorado Springs tended to favor the views of the right. But there was a broad spread of views among each town’s citizens, and a substantial overlap between the groups: some people from liberal Boulder were to the right of some people from conservative Colorado Springs. After the discussions, the range of political views sharply changed. First, people were emboldened after discussing controversial issues with people who tended to hold similar views, and their views became more extreme. The Boulder groups moved a long way further to the left, and the Colorado Springs groups moved a long way further to the right. This was true not only of what people said in public, but also of what they told the researchers in private. Second, the diversity within each group was suppressed, so the spectrum of opinion was much narrower. The Boulder groups converged on left-wing views, of course, and the Colorado Springs groups converged on right-wing views. Given these two shifts in the groups’ views—more extreme, with less internal variety—the inevitable result was that the groups became sharply divided from each other.
It always feels more comforting to surround ourselves with those whom views are similar to ours. However, whenever we choose to do so, we end up reinforcing each other and end up with more extreme views. It is painful to do so, but the best way to ensure that one does not end up having radical views is to seek those whose opinions you disagree with and listen with an open mind.
In the past, I found myself thinking I had the answers to everything. Youthful exuberance tends to exaggerate one’s sense of righteousness and confidence. Forcing yourself to be your own devil’s advocate helps you see the nuances in issues, and you’ll find that maybe those who hold opposing views aren’t so different after all.
On a whole, this book speaks a lot about mindfully inserting a little chaos and disorder into your own life. When done so, it might compel you to take new perspectives, learn more about yourself and find new and better things. I’ll be featuring a few more passages from Messy in the upcoming days.
