Here is another Blog inspired by the March 2006 issue of the AARP
Bulletin.
Under the section heading “Discoveries,” an article entitled
“Politics: All Heart, No Head” reiterates what many probably already
suspect: Most people are led by emotions, not logic, in forming their
opinions about issues and candidates.
Scientists studying reactions, by imaging scans of the brains of
staunch Democrats and Republicans to comments made by presidential
candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry during the 2004 elections,
observed “…activity in parts that govern emotion but little in parts
that govern logic.”
The article ends with this interesting comment: “Participants did not
spot inconsistencies in the words of their favored candidate but easily
caught contradictions made by the other candidate.”
I wrote my 9 March 2006 Blog, “Birth Control and Abortion,” before
reading the above-mentioned article; but it seems to underscore the
point that where politics are concerned, people in general are led by
their emotions.
When you stop to think about it, isn’t it emotional response to
politics and religion that results in so many of the riots we see almost
daily around the world? And haven’t dictators throughout history
manipulated the emotions of crowds to achieve their ends?
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
