Ed Coper

And when Australians head to the polls, they're much more likely to be thinking about the greater good.

And that is a wonderful cultural trait that we have in Australia.

Long may it continue.

Well, here's another thing.

And you know the best thing to look out for on election day at the booths

is say a Liberal Party volunteer will say, hey, I need to go to the bathroom to the Labor Party volunteer.

Could you hold my spot and hold these pamphlets for me?

The Labor Party volunteer might even give out their pamphlets while they're gone, right?

There is so much civility around Australian politics and we are much less likely to engage in the culture wars like Americans do where they are so polarised.

All they can see

is the tribal affiliation of the political identity that others share.

Well, then you have an enemy, not an opponent then.

Exactly, exactly.

So, you know, I might be talking to someone down at the pub who is watching the cricket with me on the big screen and we get on like a house on fire.

If things turn to politics and I found out we're on different political teams, we might disagree.

But that might not be how I see them as the totality of them in a person.

The trouble is when we are surrounded by social media political outrage, all we ever see is the political tribe.

All we ever see is people as opponents.

We don't see the humans behind that.

And we don't connect over the things that keep us together, that we share in common.