169 years ago, Rep. Preston Brooks beat Sen. Charles Sumner with a cane on the Senate floor because of their differing political views. In the present day, we have stayed consistent with our violent tendencies, using updated technology to help encourage the imaginary chasm between people.
The States feel more split than ever before. Disrespect and violence from the very top of the chain are trickling down to the actions of others around us. We have seen enough violence and the hateful fallout following it.
Even further, we are witnessing actual leaders of our country fuel the flames of polarization, vilifying the party they are not a part of – and people are listening. Why has everyone forgotten we are all, ultimately, on the same side?
Believe it or not, Democrats and Republicans are not that different. Both live in the same country, states and cities and are affected by the same rules of government established over this country’s life. Both mascots of the party are animals that happen to be prey. However, over the years, each party has decided to attack each other instead of working together to improve the place we all live.
By listening to our “leaders,” we have abandoned the facts. By scrolling online, we have dug ourselves into a chamber of opinions that push us further to a side. We have begun to tie our exaggerated political ideas to our identities; now, when questioned on what we believe, we take it as a personal attack.
As humans living in this country, we all have different life experiences that cause us to have different morals and ideas. This is no reason to hate someone or enact violence. What can occur is debating issues, not people. We have forgotten how to respectfully disagree with others, been cast into black and white groups and learned disrespectful tendencies from the leaders we have right now. This all causes absolute polarization in our politics, which is simply not productive.
This is not the way our democracy should work. The left and right thinkers should not be using their energy to increase polarization; we should be using our energy to improve the government that is supposed to help all of us. We should be actively looking to challenge what we believe to create solutions that work for all people and learn to appreciate those who think differently.
To achieve this, we must create a space for middle-ground thinkers and stop pushing others to completely opposite sides of the spectrum. This goal seems almost unattainable, especially as students exist in social media bubbles that are filled with violence and hate. However, if we educate ourselves now, vote on policies over party loyalty and start teaching others how to properly function in our two-party system, the political climate will improve.
A united version of the States is not impossible. We do not have to hate each other to win; we have to recognize that those who believe differently from us have the same goals in mind, simply different methods to get there.
