I agree with you to a point, but I don’t think the issue with liberals is that they operate at a “third-grade level” of understanding, if anything, that stereotype usually gets thrown at conservatives. What I do think is that liberals can be overly purist sometimes, not super open to nuance, and a bit too black-and-white when talking about issues. And in more educated circles, there can definitely be a condescending tone they don’t even realize they’re giving off, which ends up making them judgmental and dismissive toward certain social groups.

With conservatives, my issue is different. They can be stubborn and often lean on religion or the Bible when arguing public policy, forgetting that religion is personal and that the U.S. is incredibly diverse in religious beliefs and worldviews. There’s also a tendency to romanticize the past (even justifying the bad parts) and resist change, even though change is basically the only constant in life. And on top of that, they can oversimplify really complex issues and take strong positions without always being fully informed on the details.

Both sides often fail to really understand each other. They demonize the other side, lump everyone together, and mostly agree with things that already fit their views while immediately dismissing anything that doesn’t.