Empathizing Across the “Aisle”

Restoring Empathy in Online Political Debate — Part 2

Reaching Across the Divide

In this part 2 of us looking at empathy in online political debate, we’ll take a look at some positive attempts to increase empathy. (Read Part 1 here.) From left to right on all levels, there are small hints of people wanting to bring to the online world a sense of empathetic understanding that will cross the aisle, so to speak, and help us bridge the large divide we are now seeing.

If you are even somewhat active or present on social media, it likely has become very clear that discussion and debate is often shut down, either by the loudest voice, or the inability to empathize and see another point of view and allow for that view to be expressed. Part of this animosity is also caused by our time on social media and the impact of curated feeds and narrowcast worlds that we live in, especially when they confirm our biases and allow us to back up our discussions with a feedback loop of the same ideas we already believe in and understand.

Earlier this Summer, as opposed to the usual news from Trump and anti-Trump clashes, we saw a great example of opposite sides “keeping their cool,” partly aided by an “empathy tent.” In the Sacramento Bee article, the author describes it as a place “wherein organizers promised “10 minutes of deep listening” without judgment, advice or interruption. Edwin Rutsch, head of the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy, spent the afternoon sitting face to face in folding chairs with people who stopped by to talk politics, religion or whatever else struck them.” This type of work is very much needed across the country at rallies, debates, or even town hall meetings.

In another example, this Mother, after being called an “intolerant liberal” by her son, traveled the country videoing discussions and talks with different people on many controversial subjects. Julie Winokur then took her finished project across the country, showcasing “Bring It To The Table” in an effort to remind viewers that we must ultimately look at the other side and find common ground.

Could this work for all of us online? Perhaps we should create empathy tents within our own discussions, spaces where we can come to understand (or remember) that there is a human with different views on the other side of the screen. The videos of the “Bring It To The Table” project and the “Empathy Tent” are great examples of a way to do this.

Empathy In practice: A Senator’s Pledge of Civility

In an excellent example of being able to use empathy to see the other side, amidst what has become an increasingly violent environment, at least one Senator is publicly looking to go back to civility. Go back to? When was it lost, or is it lost? Yes, just like empathy, civility seems to have faded, and partly because of the lack of putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes. On June 28, in an “Ideas” piece for Time, Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, lays out his vision and three steps toward civility:

Speak Responsibly

Practice Media Mindfulness

Venture Beyond the Confines of our Social Circles

Most importantly for our conversation, he notes, when discussing practicing media mindfulness:

“ Just as the food we eat affects the body, the information we consume affects the mind. The daily consumption of media that presents only one political viewpoint — whether conservative or liberal — cocoons the mind in a safely sealed ideological echo chamber. An imbalanced media diet shrinks our perception of reality, which in turn limits our capacity for empathy and our ability to engage civilly with others.

To better understand how the other side thinks and feels, we must make a conscious effort to diversify our media intake. This exercise in empathy may not heal decades-old political divisions or usher in a post-partisan age. But it will at least help us break free from party groupthink and be better prepared to engage in civil debate with friends and neighbors.”

These are just a few ways we are seeing a push toward empathy in online political debate. What have you seen? How is an individual or an organization that you know of working to create a space for understanding and empathy in online political debate? Please share in the comments or on our Facebook and Twitter accounts.


The Empathy Project is the Capstone Project of Matt Achhammer, a student in the Emerging Media Master’s program at Loyola University Maryland. I invite you to join me in this discussion here and on social media through Facebook and Twitter. Please feel welcome to suggest topics, provide examples, and share advice or your own stories along the way.

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The Empathy Project

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A study of empathy (or the lack thereof) in the online environments. What is it, where it is lacking, how to teach it.

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