Political conversations escalate fast. PEP—a structured empathy practice from Chapter 15—helps you observe, check feelings, and steel-man positions to shift from combat to connection.
The story
Is your dinner table turning into a debate server?
Voices spike, and everyone hits compile for a fight
I watch my brain drop packets and reach for a hot take
Then PEP says, “Observe first,” and we get through the night
Ever notice how political talk goes from “ideas” to “identity” in 0.7 seconds? One minute it’s policy; next minute it’s, “So you think I’m a monster.” Domination culture loves that move. It turns curiosity into a cage match.
Chapter 15 of Scott Howard Swain’s *A Practical EmPath: Rewire Your Mind* offers a clean little problem-solution refactor for this: Practical Empathy Practice, or PEP.
PEP is structured, not squishy:
Observe what’s happening, no judgment.
Check in with your own feelings.
Guess their feelings.
Name the values or needs under the heat.
Then the spicy part for politics: steel-man their position. Not to agree, but to prove you’re actually listening and seeking truth. Add equanimity, acknowledge the emotions driving the stance, and answer from shared values like security or fairness.
If you want fewer “You’re wrong!” loops and more “Oh, that’s what you care about” connection, Chapter 15 is a solid toolbelt upgrade.
