Continued from Relationships and Politics Part One.... It seems that something is making these cues that normally preserve civility ineffective, and there is more than one factor causing this phenomenon. First, a masking-effect is likely occurring. In effect, the cues we are usually attuned-to may be masked by a counteracting ‘noise’ from our political association. To better understand this effect, let’s start by considering how noise-cancelling headphones work. Such headphones have an external...

San Diegans typically peacefully associate with friends, neighbors, family and colleagues whose backgrounds and preferences are different than our own. The diversity of our city is seen everywhere, in its food, music, priorities, and appearance. Generally, these differences add spice to our daily interactions. Often, we become more “well-rounded” from our interactions and learn to incorporate the differences into our own lives. We accept the diversity and grow from it. It is rare that these diff...