Despite different methods, we are all Americans

Over the past couple decades, the realm of politics has become increasingly polarized, to the point where many people view others with opposing viewpoints as unintelligent or even morally deficient.

The political landscape has become purely a battle of right versus left, and the goal of each side has become the ultimate triumph of their respective ideology.

The easiest way for either side to obtain that victory is to demonize the other and to promulgate itself as virtuous and morally correct. This is very problematic, because it traps individuals into echo chambers that produce widespread confirmation bias of their chosen side, as they become more bigoted and radicalized.

When people see each other as enemies on opposing ideological teams, the country starts to fall apart. We can see this happening already with many people unwilling to either share their own beliefs, or listen to those of other people.

It is critical to overcome this division as a nation, but the change needs to happen at the individual level. The country can only change when communities change, and communities can only change when individuals in the community change.

Accordingly, I would like to challenge anyone reading this article to make a conscious effort to be courageous in expressing your own beliefs, and simultaneously practice being more tolerant and open-minded to those who you do not agree with. This will have a positive impact on both yourself and the community.

In terms of yourself, having your beliefs challenged promotes personal growth. Different perspectives and new information can not only alter your opinions for the better and teach you humility in that process, but also help them to become more sophisticated as you develop a further understanding on the issues at hand.

In terms of the community, if people see your willingness to be respectful toward others in difficult conversations, they will likely be more interested to share their own viewpoints with you.

There will then be more discourse all around, and it is much more probable that pragmatic solutions to real world problems will be developed.

With the Nov. 3 election coming up, tensions are already high and undoubtedly will increase even further when a winner is declared. As a community, we can either fall further into hatred and polarization, or we can come together and mitigate the negative impacts of the election.

We can increase our understanding of people who come from different backgrounds and of their viewpoints. We can strengthen friendships, rather than destroy them.

In the end, it all comes down to viewing each other primarily as human beings rather than by one’s political affiliation, which has become all too common.

The only way we can move forward together on the national and local level is to recognize that, despite our different methods and approaches to issues, we are unified as Americans and humans fighting to make our country, and the world, a better place.