With hesitance, I set foot in the Senate chamber. My eyes dart across the room, as I frantically search for my desk. I place down the few items I had brought along with me. My blazer tightens as I begin to adjust my seat. Student Senators from across the entire state of Missouri sit in anticipation, preparing to interpret, analyze, and deconstruct the very legislation we had all meticulously crafted months prior. With little delay, the chamber is called into session, and our political assertions project outward into a room full of our peers, subject to their scathing judgment and assumptions, both conscious and subconscious.
As more students stand to speak their mind, delivering strongly opinionated speeches on politically charged topics of discussion, I can’t help but notice the degrading assumptions I subconsciously hold toward those with opposing viewpoints. I find myself making unfounded and frankly unreasonable assumptions about the character and motives of those speaking. Their genuine opinions are reduced to nothing more than arrogance or misunderstanding. Their intentions are misconstrued, with their personalities appearing sinister and their opinions seeming derived from maliciousness.
As we made our way down the docket, I found myself losing my temper. This frustration continued to build until we had ultimately arrived on a topic I wasn’t certain how to vote on. Both the proponents and opponents of this bill continued to introduce valid points, whilst offering constructive criticism of the opposite perspective. The perspectives offered toward the bill continued to bring the chamber closer and closer to a suitable resolution.
When I had finally come to my decision, it was clear that I was breaking through the ideological lines that had so strictly bound me beforehand. I stood to speak on this bill with a sense of pride in knowing that I had come to this conclusion based solely upon the dialogue amongst our chamber, as opposed to the polarization that had so stringently restricted me before.
For better or worse, politics play an incredibly important role in our lives. Interactions among our friends, family, and entire community, are inseparable from the devastation and widespread damage of political polarization. Those in power have much to gain from this division, while we continuously blame the “other side” for each and every problem in our lives. Throughout history, people have always searched for somebody to blame in an attempt to rationalize the perspectives they so fervently believe.
Valuable time and effort is wasted on the resentment and retribution we see played out at our dinner tables, on the news, and even in the halls of Congress. The value of human connection and open dialogue is a necessity for fostering a sense of community. This virtue can only be realized through the acknowledgment of our similarities and many shared values. It has become easy to forget the humanity and decency each one of us deserves, it is only through unhindered communication and empathy that we as a people can create lasting change.
So, the next time you find yourself screaming at thanksgiving dinner, shaking your fist at the TV, or bickering with another student in your classroom, truly consider the opposing viewpoint being shared for what it contains, as opposed to the character of the person stating it.
