It’s probably more productive, particularly for a forum tailored towards rationalism, to discuss policies over politics.
Often in research people across a political divide will agree on policy goals and platforms when those are discussed without tying them to party identification.
But if it becomes a discussion around party, the human tendency towards tribalism kicks in and the question of team allegiance takes precedence over the discussions of policy nuance.
For example, most people would agree with the idea that billionaires having undue influence on elections isn’t healthy for democracy. But if you start naming the billionaire, such as Soros or Koch, suddenly half the people in your sample either feel more strongly or less strongly about the scenario depending on the name.
If you want to avoid simply seeking out and cultivating an echo chamber, leaving the politics part to the side and fostering discussion of the underlying policies and social/economic/etc goals instead will lead to discussions with more diverse and nuanced perspectives with greater participation across political identities.
It’s probably more productive, particularly for a forum tailored towards rationalism, to discuss policies over politics.
Often in research people across a political divide will agree on policy goals and platforms when those are discussed without tying them to party identification.
But if it becomes a discussion around party, the human tendency towards tribalism kicks in and the question of team allegiance takes precedence over the discussions of policy nuance.
For example, most people would agree with the idea that billionaires having undue influence on elections isn’t healthy for democracy. But if you start naming the billionaire, such as Soros or Koch, suddenly half the people in your sample either feel more strongly or less strongly about the scenario depending on the name.
If you want to avoid simply seeking out and cultivating an echo chamber, leaving the politics part to the side and fostering discussion of the underlying policies and social/economic/etc goals instead will lead to discussions with more diverse and nuanced perspectives with greater participation across political identities.