Dr. Andrew Smolar: Does your party represent your moral foundation?

We are divided by our different belief systems. Roughly half of the population believes that our institutions are fair and that everyone is responsible for the outcome of his/her chosen pathway. The other half believe that the playing field is lopsided and that outcomes are not primarily determined by the individual. Half believe that religion is basic and that prayer should be included in public schools. They also strive to limit the teaching of certain historical facts and dimensions of sexuality to children. Half believe that prayer has no place in public school, but that history and sexuality should be taught from a wide perspective to children when developmentally appropriate.

Educational achievement does not determine one’s belief system. A study published by Cambridge University Press shows that knowledgeable politicians from our two main parties, when confronted with the same set of facts, drew opposite conclusions. These conclusions reflect previously stated points of view and partisan bias. A study published by Oxford Academic’s Public Opinion Quarterly shows that leaders’ rhetoric strengthens party members’ beliefs, especially traditional ones associated with the party’s identity.

Belief systems originate from our families of origin and other caretaking groups we are exposed to during our formative years. In his book “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion,” Jonathan Haidt demonstrates that we are pre-wired with six moral taste receptors, and the ones that become part of our identity are shaped by familial values and cultural influences.

If God is in my oxygen when I am a small child, I am likely to believe in his/her presence. If loyalty or respect for authority is emphasized, I am more likely to be drawn to the military as a young adult. On the other hand, if my parents are atheists and the entire species is part of my parents’ worldview, I am less likely to believe in God and more likely to be concerned about global warming than local charities.

One moral foundation isn’t better than another — they are just different, like when I prefer chocolate to vanilla ice cream.

Since one’s moral system is determined by familial influences, it isn’t surprising that a person raised in a Republican family is likely to embrace a different system from someone raised in a Democratic family. Democrats have historically been self-righteous about this difference. For example, Democrats are typically offended that Republicans don’t share their concern about LGBTQ rights. Republican leaders have committed a graver error, however, by knowingly violating their own established values. They have misled their members about reality. They have claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from President Trump, that the threat of covid has been exaggerated, that Jan. 6 exemplified normal protest, that many votes will be cast illegally if Republicans don’t intervene, that humankind’s contribution to global warming has been distorted, and that white people have been unjustly marginalized.

What’s tricky here is that there is some truth to the claim that some white people have been marginalized — particularly white people who have not received solid public education. Without skills to compete in an increasingly technologically advanced world, they are vocationally disadvantaged. They are understandably resentful toward people staked to greater opportunities and pay. And they are susceptible to charges that brown immigrants have displaced them and want to take away their jobs. People who feel excluded by our core institutions, especially when plagued by insecurity dating back to their childhoods, are susceptible to blaming the establishment for their inadequacies, and ready to join a magnetic group advocating a mythical past, even if its beliefs happen to be untrue.

A patient explained to me that she wouldn’t accept the covid vaccine — and therefore couldn’t see me in-person — because Big Pharma has lied about its contents and effectiveness. She didn’t trust science, certain kinds of doctors, Democratic politicians or most of our institutions. Rather than challenge her views, I found it more helpful to understand the source of her mistrust, which had to do with her family of origin, her alienation from them and her subsequent mistrust of most powerful groups. They had continued to fail her, just like her parents and siblings. My helping her to see the roots of why she felt so hurt and disappointed resulted in her shifting from MAGA supporter to an undecided voter.

So how to mend our divide? Educators have proposed a renovation of public education, with renewed focus on critical thinking. Political scientists have proposed a return to democratic norms and changes to our representational system. Media experts have recommended some form of regulation and reduction of profit motive. Conflict resolvers encourage dialogue between political opponents. Psychiatrists have supported a bolstered mental health care system so that more Americans can access treatment, with improvement of reality testing as an aim.

At the end of the day, however, any major changes will require the support of voters. So I ask: Can you locate your moral system? From where did it arise? And right now, does your party reflect it?

Dr. Andrew Smolar is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry in the Temple University School of Medicine and a training and supervising analyst and former president of the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.