American politics are polarized. Shocking news, I know.
Everyone you talk to is either the radical Democrat trying to start a socialist revolution or the Republican trying to take away women’s rights. Each side picks the most divisive stance of the other and throws it as the kicker during an argument. In the current climate, if you are in any way associated with the two parties, you are aligning yourself with their extreme views.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, it shouldn’t be that way.
The extreme polarization of our political parties has eradicated the middle ground. We don’t have an in-between to walk on: it’s just a void.
Without that common ground, you are forced to associate yourself with one of the poles so you’re not completely shunned from the factions. It’s always “you’re not liberal enough” or “you’re not conservative enough,” as if we are not nuanced beings capable of seeing either side.
I often see this argument coming from those on the left who definitively announce they will not befriend a conservative, even one who doesn’t support President Donald Trump.
One part of this problem is the lumping-together of conservatives and Trump supporters, which is the wrong move to make. Trump’s traditional posse is in a league of their own. And the far-right Trumpists are the truly scary bunch — the white supremacists who, in a way, seem as if they would rather live in the 1950s, when white supremacism was simply an accepted way of life.
I find that Trump supporters are often aware of this preconceived notion and scoff at the idea of supporting racism, homophobia or any other unacceptable ideology. They couldn’t possibly subscribe to those behaviors, because in their minds, Trump is restoring our national morality.
They’re simply in a bubble of their own form of conservatism, and despite what many think, conservatives who don’t agree can distance themselves from these people.
Very liberal people may see conservatives and think of religious Southerners who vote for politicians who don’t support human rights. This mindset discounts the fact that you can vote outside of your party and paints progressive Democratic leaders as the pinnacle of perfection.
Everyone loves to bring up former President George W. Bush’s rampage on the Middle East once he launched the war on terror, but let’s keep in mind who continued the war: former President Barack Obama.
Regardless of party, a politician’s main goal is re-election. So, just as much as Republicans are wealthy politicians who sit back and serve their own self-interest, so are Democrats. At this point, it seems as if both sides would rather shoot crude jabs at one another on Twitter than effectively compromise on our most pressing issues.
Additionally, we often forget our beliefs are constantly evolving. How unforgiving and arrogant is it to think that because you have been liberal your entire life, conservatives who may have voted for Trump or other Republicans in the past deserve no redemption?
You are objectively saying you are a better person than they are because you vote Democrat. Though the Democratic Party — which, by the way, doesn’t lean far left enough by some progressives’ standards — does have a more progressive and inclusive platform, it is not free of corruption and greed, and treating it as such will only help its politicians evade accountability.
Our political ideologies are based on our own sets of morals, and there exists no common blueprint of an objectively good person. Still, we are drifting farther away from a collective determination of what “good” is by further choosing to polarize each other.
I understand the far-right’s agenda is frightening. I understand they overstep boundaries and are actively terrorizing our country. But despite their inhumane decisions, it is unproductive to completely outcast conservatives who are deciding to denounce those groups.
There can still be a middle ground. There are conservatives who chose to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden. People are allowed to sit in the middle and make space for others who don’t want to hop on the Polar Express and head further away from that common ground we so desperately need in order to build unity in our country.
We should promote the middle ground as a place where people can have productive conversations about the issues at hand. We have no need to kick people out of the conversation if they do not already hold exactly the same beliefs as ourselves. If that were the goal, then we immediately choose civil war before ever learning how to problem-solve together.
This back and forth is exhausting. We must begin to humble ourselves and let go of the God complex we have around our political and moral decisions.
The people, a collective force, are the ones who create change. We come together to protest, strike and vote for progressive action. If we cannot join forces across the spectrum of political ideologies, then this intolerance will only hamper our nation’s growth. We can have no progress without conversation.
