I have been spending a lot of time on social media, mostly Twitter, trying to engage with people who I really disagree with but want to try to understand.

There is this thing that keeps bothering me, a common refrain for people who are at an ideological impasse: it is either, “all you liberals,” or, “all you conservatives.” There are worse terms people use (to bastardize the word “liberal” especially) that I don’t feel it necessary to repeat here.

Why do we find it so hard to take people on a case by case basis?

There is an argument to be made that we need to simplify people and things into categories in order to make sense of our world. So, if you believe in gun rights, strong borders, and are pro-life, you probably will be called a conservative (and might call yourself one, proudly); and if you believe in gay rights, immigration, and government aid to the poor, you will probably be called a liberal (and might call yourself one, proudly). This is a way to categorize people so that we can understand them quickly. The problem seems to be that these categories, rather than aid in understanding, halt all attempts at understanding one another. What if you believe in gun rights, gay rights, pro-life, and government aid to the poor? People seem to label you based on the first thing they hear come out of your mouth. And if you are too idiosyncratic to be labeled, you will be ignored, or labeled as “other.”

To understand the terms “liberal” and “conservative” being used as blanket epithets for anyone who disagrees with you, we need to look at in-groups and out-groups.

More to come on this, however, because I spent hours on social media this evening engaging with people and have spent my brain and need rest. I’m on to sleep. More tomorrow.