Edit: The claim of this article was that partisan positions are not usually based on just principles. They are based on very different sources of information. People with the same ideals find themselves fighting each other; if their information sources were tampered, their positions could just as easily flip. It was just a call to observe one's own sources and realize that they might have similar bias as what you "know" your opposite party to have.
In India, a liberal is perhaps just as likely to be "pro-life" as they are "pro-choice". The same holds true for conservatives. And both sides wore masks during the peak of Covid.
On my first visit to the US, I remember how Pelosi visited Chinatown at the onset of Covid, no mask on face. The right-wing ridiculed her for risking public health. Democrats said that the fears are irrational and politically motivated. Fast forward one year, this role-playing just... switched?
The US isn't new to reversing of bipolar opinions. In the past, Democrats and Republicans have entirely switched their ideologies in perplexing ways, something that shouldn't generally be possible. So what does it take for such a switch to happen?
The answer that I found is sad: To switch an ideology of a team, you only need to switch the ideology of the opposing team.
Let's take abortion for example. The American-left holds the generally libertarian "individual-freedom" opinion on this issue. The right stands for... big government.
Let's say I want to switch the roles. I want to make the left pro-life, and the right pro-choice. Assume that I have all the money I need to influence opinions. Then how would I go about tuning the US to my will?
1. Republicans: It is advised in the Bible that if your wife cheated on you... In fact, if you even SUSPECT that she cheated on you, then you make her drink "bitterwater". This is a miraculous drink that kills the fetus and makes the womb infertile IF she actually cheated. Well. Liberals would generally agree that if a woman wants to carry that baby, she should have the right to do so. Correct? That makes us all MORE pro-life than the Bible with its "men's right to abortion".
So here's what I would do to swing Republicans: I would overplay every report of immigrant crime on Fox News, bombarding them with the opinion that white women everywhere were being violated by immigrants and black/brown men leading to unwanted births. I would hint that this was all supported by "globalists" who secretly wanted to change the demography of the US. I would start citing the Bible to start reminding them how men were "supposed to" have "control" over their wives' bodies. I would smear the term "pro-life" as a ploy for big-government to exert more control.
2. Democrats: Liberals like to stand up for unrepresented minorities and the voiceless. "Babies in wombs" could be framed as both of these. How would I push that idea? I would amplify "research" claiming that babies at 6 weeks were very developed, conscious, and as sensitive to pain as after birth. Research on related topics is sketchy, at best; there are articles which even claim (wrongly) that plants feel pain and "scream" for help when cut. So its utterly easy to find whatever research supports my desired conclusion. With enough repetition of the claim that fetus=human across all social media and liberal outlets, I believe the left-wing opinion would start to soften.
What's the most important is that both the above need to be done simultaneously. If the left wing starts inclining towards regulation to abortions when birth is feasible, the right would "automatically" swing the other way. And in general, it's vice-versa too.
I think that it is what happened with Covid and masks, at least in part. I'll go further and claim that the same holds true for immigration, gun laws, and beyond. Only the fear of "the other side" gaining assault weapons can make Republicans want more gun control. Framing immigration as essential to cheap labor and American economy may make them amenable, but the only thing that would make them truly swing is Democrats taking the other side... which I personally believe, is actually possible, but only if Republicans change their side first.
This is in stark contrast to India, where both the left and the right have actually held similar views on such issues... except for immigration, in which case, they mirror American politics. Now there are other Indian partisan issues that take their place, but I'll have to leave that for another day.