Personal prejudices you don’t even know you have enable you to be unknowingly manipulated politically. These personal prejudices are at the core of why polarized politics continues. As a result, even in the midst of the worst fiscal crisis in America’s history, our political leadership is unable to achieve consensus.

These prejudices are not based on race, religion or nationality. They are psychological and internal to your personal outlook towards the world. That outlook was developed in your upbringing. You probably aren’t even aware of it, but others are and they’re using that outlook against you to manipulate you to their benefit. Everyone has one of two versions of this prejudice. Which version you have determines your political outlook.

I first learned of this prejudice by studying persuasion. All buying decisions are emotional. All buying emotions fall into one of two categories—fear of loss and desire for gain. Salespeople know this principle and use it. They know if they can raise your emotions, then your reason will be inhibited. If your reason can be inhibited then you can be manipulated. What I also know (even as I write this) is this prejudice is already shaping what you think I will write next.

This orientation towards fear of loss or desire for gain manifests itself in your attitude towards life. Of the two, the most pervasive and the more likely prejudice to get a response is fear of loss. If your orientation is fear of loss, then you believe the pie is only so big and someone is taking your share. Someone, somewhere, is getting something that rightfully belongs to you. It is, in short, something of a form of paranoia.

In politics, this phenomenon is expressed in several ways. Here are some of the more common. First, you feel you have worked hard all your life and you believe in the self reliance of the individual. Horror of horrors, you think a political party has found their path to power by taking what you have worked long and hard for and giving it to people who do not deserve it. You would have a lot more in your life if it wasn’t for those greedy politicians keeping themselves in power by giving away what’s rightfully yours.

Here is the other. . .

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