We’re infected by the political bug.
Politics has power in this country. It has more power than we would care to admit it actually. For example, politics has the ability to change the way I see you and vice versa.
Think about it. When you hear someone say they’re a Republican or Democrat, what comes to your head? Do you automatically feel like they support something that you don’t? Do you feel like you will now have to change the conversations you have because of their party? Do you feel a little more defensive than you once were?
I’ll be honest, for me, when I hear someone say they associate with a particular party, I begin to form my opinions. How could they support that? Or how can they be a part of that? It’s no wonder they felt like that about guns… All of a sudden their track record is either up for question or now begins to make sense, simply because they identified a political party.
Is my thought process wrong for doing that? Absolutely. Is politics to blame for my jumping to conclusions? No. Does politics help to not jump to conclusions? No. Thus we have a society of people who are drawing conclusions about people because of their association with a party.