INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — “You know, I hate to be the bearer of bad news in the morning…”

Steven Webster is nothing if not honest.

As an Indiana University associate professor of political science, Webster has made a career of studying the political process and the words and actions that drive it. In a new appearance on WISH-TV’s Daybreak, Webster delivered a frank assessment for those hoping that friendlier days lie ahead.

“I think this negativity is likely to persist, and the reason is that our anger and our negativity is useful for politicians,” he explained. “One thing you can think about is that an angry voter is a loyal voter. And what I mean by this is that the angrier you are at the opposing political party or its candidates or its supporters, the more likely you are to remain loyal to your own party.”

Webster also cautions against believing the situation now is the worst it has ever been.

“We can go back to the beginning of the country and think about the famous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. We, of course, had a Civil War where our country entirely split up,” he offered. “And so while it’s certainly true that anger marks contemporary politics, anger has also marked historical political events in this country. Anger is, in many ways, the undercurrent that defines American politics.”

To explain the phenomenon, Webster draws parallels between political and athletic fandom.

“(F)or many people, politics has become a bit of a hobby, just like following a sports team has become a hobby for people. And so we can follow political news throughout the day. And oftentimes doing this is what makes us angry, right? We’re sort of addicted to anger in this country.”

Extending the sporting analogy further, Webster points out that our foes often inspire stronger reactions than our favorites do.

“American politics is not so much about who you love. It’s about who you loathe,” he said. “And so voters are motivated to keep the parties and candidates that they dislike out of power rather than voting for the candidates and the parties that they actually do like. And this is problematic because when we’re motivated primarily against things rather than for things, it can really shape and change how we view those whose political beliefs are different from our own.”

Webster explores all these themes more deeply in his book American Rage: How Anger Shapes Our Politics.