“In Mending America’s Political Divide, neuroscientist Dr. Rene Levy provides an expert’s view of the cancer of political contempt in America. He masterfully diagnoses the problem and provides a cure. If you want a future in which we unify and uplift our country, read this book.”
“In his new book, “Mending America’s Political Divide,” Dr. Rene Levy has discovered a process by which each of us can help to heal the divisions which have resulted in pain and chaos in America. Understanding the core reasons for the splintering of families, friends and the political process is critical. His solutions are worthwhile. We are all responsible for the damage and now must reverse the tide of intolerance which has spread like wildfire.”
“Mending America’s Political Divide offers a sound diagnosis of our political ills. It offers a prescription that I wish more people would take to heart.”
What does science tell us about the palpable level of hatred that exists between left and right in America? In MENDING AMERICA’S POLITICAL DIVIDE, prominent neuroscientist Rene Levy tells us why political hatred is our most dangerous emotion, the nuclear weapon of the mind. The unique potency of political hatred emboldens us to view large groups of people impersonally enough to wage physical war against them, and makes us even more susceptible to propaganda from our own side that nearly consumes our daily lives.
Levy tells us why a growing number of Americans have now devolved into using the most corrosive and primitive part of their brains. Our “primitive brains” feed hatred, contempt, paranoia and feelings of moral superiority. When the primitive brain perceives a threat, real or imagined, it gets activated immediately and shuts off our capacity for empathy. Empathy limits our cruelty.
How can this problem—which isn’t going to magically disappear no matter who wins the election in November—begin to be solved? Levy dispenses with the finger-pointing and instead forces us to take a closer look at how we play into the drama, asking the tough questions that we have to answer about ourselves first, before we can engage in thoughtful dialogue with others.
While MENDING AMERICA’S POLITICAL DIVIDE clearly illustrates why the problem is more complex and deep-rooted. Levy lays out a viable plan to solve the problem. The book places a special emphasis on the wars between family and friends that have resulted in people not speaking to each other In short, we need to ask ourselves difficult questions and come to the realization that:
Knowledgeable and sophisticated people can reach different conclusions from the same set of facts.
People have valid reasons to hold their opinions because they are only reacting with the knowledge they have and the genetic makeup they inherited.
The political positions of liberals and conservatives are both fundamentally moral.
Feeling threatened when others have a very different perspective represents just another trick of the primitive brain that should be ignored.
Expecting to persuade others to adopt our point of view is presumptuous.
Acknowledging a contradictory opinion is not synonymous with agreeing with it.
Acknowledging a conflicting viewpoint is not synonymous with betraying ourselves.
Finding middle ground is not equivalent to being fake or unassertive.
Living with political disagreements is easy once we know that we control the significance we attribute to our political differences.
We need to acknowledge that we share a common destiny.
Those who have the most legitimate reasons to hold grievances against others often have a greater ability to understand the emotions and impulses of people who disagree with them.
