An Exercise to Gauge Our Exposure to Different Ideas

We’ve got an exercise for everyone to try out that might be quite illuminating. It’s 3 steps and shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes total. It’s important to finish each step before starting the next one!

1. Think of the 5 people with whom you most often discuss politics. Write down their names.

2. When convenient, contact them to ask them 5 questions we provide below. Feel free to tell them this is a little experiment you’re doing, and feel free to add to the list. Make sure you answer them yourself, too, before you send them out.

   1. Do you think federal deficit reduction should be driven primarily by spending cuts or tax increases?

   2. Do you think the Federal Assault Weapons Ban should be renewed?

   3. Do you agree with the President’s executive action on creating a Path to Citizenship for undocumented/illegal immigrants?

   4. Do you believe state legislatures should be able to limit abortions to 20 (or so) weeks?

   5. Do you think the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA or “Obamacare”) should be overturned by congress?

3. Tabulate the results and determine how much diversity of political opinion exists in your group. If all 6 of you agree, you might have little diversity; if it’s split 50/50, you have lots.

If your group has low diversity of political opinion, what do you think this means about your ability to empathize with those who disagree with you? What about your ability to engage them and win them over to your side?

If you’re keen, let us know your results in comments!

If a great political discussion emerges, awesome. Remember to focus on asking great questions and striving to embody the principles of the Pledge to always be more Considerate!