There's a bunch of people saying that it isn't traitorous to understand your opponent, but boy do people make you feel like it is. People like their strawmen be

There's a bunch of people saying that it isn't traitorous to understand your opponent, but boy do people make you feel like it is. People like their strawmen because it reinforces the collective groupthink of their tribe, and anything that possibly humanizes the opponent also weakens the argument that your side is objectively correct. If you're interested in finding the truth then understanding your opponent is a critical step in finding the truth, but if you're interested in belonging to your tribe then understanding your opponent is anathema. Don't forget, you are not immune to propaganda, and you are not immune to tribalism, even if you know that you are not immune to either. My solution to fostering cooperation is to switch to a voting system other than first past the post, so that political parties can be elected that are too small to have a majority on their own and must cooperate to govern, but that's just my opinion and I'm not sure it'll work at this point