Engaging in Healthy Political Dialogue

I wish everyone agreed with my views politically. Although I know that will never be the case. A lot of what I say is a bit radically left and these opinions constitute a small portion of American society.

Not everyone is “Fuck the system,” “ACAB,” or “Destroy the patriarchy!” I get it. And it’s not my intention to change anyone’s mind. I only want to share my thoughts and engage in meaningful dialogue about how our country can be better.

I think even the most far right conservatives can agree that America is not perfect. Maybe they think the US is the greatest country in the world, but you have got to admit that we could be better.

Unfortunately, meaningful dialogue is rare, and I see more comments on my posts (besides those from friends) telling me that I’m an idiot, my article is bullshit, and memes that make me wonder if people only read the title before they commented.

I don’t want to solely exist in a bubble of people who already agree with me. This is not how change is made. This is how echo chambers are created. But I guess this is largely how politics works. Quickly dismissing other points of view without explaining why keeps us stuck and stagnant as a society. Meanwhile, those at the top don’t give a fuck about us and continue to rack in their millions of dollars without a second thought to the experience of the average American citizen.

The systems we have set up which structure our society are flawed. It’s clear that they don’t work for everyone involved, and we must consider why that is – on every side of the political spectrum.

Instead, we waste our time criticizing people on a personal level, attacking their character because they disagree with us. I would love to debate someone and figure out exactly where our differences lie than see another insult. Insults are a waste of time. There is no productive way to respond to them or carry the conversation forward.

Whether we like it or not, we live in a huge country full of hundreds of millions of people who see life differently than we do. Traveling from one part of a singular state to another, you’ll see cultural differences which shape their views.

I think the whole liberal-conservative thing is largely influenced by how much diversity an individual has been exposed to in their lives. This is why we see cities being more liberal and small towns as largely conservative.

It’s easy to get caught up in these bubbles, especially when Facebook has an algorithm which shows you, largely, the posts they know you’ll agree with.

So how do we move forward from here? We have to start first by realizing that the people have power, and this is based on sheer magnitude. It is in the government’s best interest to keep us divided and distracted. As long as we are, they can retain their power and continue business as usual.

We must find common ground, as much as I hate (and many others on the far left and right sides of the spectrum) to admit to it. Are there issues that everyone agrees on to some overwhelming degree? How can we push forward and take back our country from the hands of corrupt politicians and millionaires who only have their own interests at heart?