With the presidential election only two days away, many of
us are faced with whether or not we should vote and more importantly, who we should
vote for. Never, in any election have we had such extreme candidates for the
presidency. Both parties have chosen the epitome of their beliefs and it makes
it hard for any average person to pick between the two. What makes it even
harder is that there are constant advertisements for both candidates. The ads
never have anything positive to say about the other candidate. Instead of
focusing on what good they can bring to the table, they just bash the other
candidate and what they are doing wrong or trudges up the past.
This practice has been going on in the world of politics for years, so it clearly is working. Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychologist, says that it happens because of evolutionary reasons; being risk-averse and really sensitive to threats during a more dangerous time was worth it. Christian Smith says that the reason we see so much negativity in elections is because of this and that politicians reinforce morals. Through all of this though, it’s important to remember to do individual research and not listen to just the ads, especially given that they are so negative.
This practice has been going on in the world of politics for years, so it clearly is working. Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychologist, says that it happens because of evolutionary reasons; being risk-averse and really sensitive to threats during a more dangerous time was worth it. Christian Smith says that the reason we see so much negativity in elections is because of this and that politicians reinforce morals. Through all of this though, it’s important to remember to do individual research and not listen to just the ads, especially given that they are so negative.
Shermer, Michael. "Why Political Pessimism Trumps
Optimism." Scientific American. N.p., 11 Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Nov. 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment