By: Kayla Del Rosario
These past few years--and the last two weeks in particular--have been a trying time in our nation. Tensions are running high not simply because of the election, but because each political party feels as though they have so much to lose and as though the other party will threaten our democracy if they win. Democrats are terrified that a continuation of Donald Trump’s presidency would move the country even closer to facism and authoritarianism, and Republicans are terrified that Joe Biden’s presidency would move the country closer to socialism. Like everyone else, I feel like there is so much at stake during this election and I’ve been following it closely, adding up the different amounts of electoral votes for each state and calculating which states each candidate would have to win and would be able to lose to become president. Across the country, Americans are unable to focus on anything other than the election as we wait for all the votes to be counted and are anxious to hear who won. Everyone is on edge.
That anxiety has boiled over in recent conversations that I’ve had with many of my peers about our political views, our views on both candidates, and our views on other relevant topics like police brutality. However, I always become uncomfortable when some students begin to say that because they believe that a certain candidate and his views are terrible, that therefore the people who support that candidate are terrible. I’ve known some students who support this candidate for the majority of my life, and I know that they are not terrible people. It’s painful to hear that someone might write them off simply for their political views, without knowing who they are as a person. I definitely support one candidate over another, and disagree very strongly with the candidate that I do not support, but that disagreement--no matter how fervent it may be--should not turn into hate. I think that these discussions are a reflection of the immense divide between the two political parties in our nation and their supporters, but that doesn’t mean that such conversations aren’t worth having. In fact, we as young adults and we as a nation must have such tough conversations in order to be able to understand our differences and hopefully overcome them. But the problem begins when we come into such discussions angrily and hatefully. Of course, if we feel that our rights are threatened, we have a right to be passionate. But that does not mean that we have a right to be hateful. If we enter such a discussion with a person who has different views than us hatefully, they will only see that hate, no matter how many reasonable arguments we present them with. It is human nature to be defensive, and no one can focus on the issue of abortion or the issue of immigration if they are being told that their opinion is wrong and that they are a terrible person for having that opinion. A discussion that starts off as political becomes a personal attack, and it is only natural for a person to feel angry, shocked, and hurt. None of those emotions make a person receptive to another’s views.
Someone might feel as though there is no reason for them to be polite and reasoned because others have attacked them for their political views. Outside of religion or personal moral codes, no one is obligated to be polite. But if we continue to attack each other based on our political opinions, the divide in our nation will only grow deeper. Yes, you can feel impassioned and angry. But letting that anger turn to hate, directing that hate at others, and labeling an entire group of people of which you know nothing about as evil will not heal our nation. It will not change anything. It will only widen the rift between people, between families and friends, and between Americans.
As much as I think that it is important to be able to discuss difficult topics with my peers, it makes me sad when people my age become so divided over political topics. I don’t believe that a person becomes an adult when they turn 18. Voting and paying taxes does not make you an adult, nor does growing a day older on your birthday. Young people slowly become adults by experiencing the world around them and broadening their perspectives. And yet even before we have become adults, political views have already become such an integral part of our identity today. Because this nation is so divided and so many people nowadays define themselves by their ideology, young people such as myself and my peers feel obligated to pick an ideology in which to believe. And the polarized political climate of our nation today ends up alienating us from our peers. We begin to think of someone as the “other” when we find out that they have different political views from us, even if we play on the same basketball team or sit across from them in class. That prejudice prevents us from forming relationships--even as young as we are--and we only become more separated from one another.
Although I have my own political views, I believe that this is the message that our school--and our nation--truly needs to hear at this time. This message is a reminder to fight against that prejudice, and to judge others based not on certain attributes that they have or on beliefs that they hold, but on who they are as a person. Prejudice has caused so many problems for us as a nation, and I truly believe that this division within our country today is an existential threat to our democracy itself. If we continue not to listen to each other and to initiate arguments instead of discussions, we will never heal the divide within our country. As young Americans, we will eventually inherit this democracy. And we need to ensure that there will be a democracy to inherit. No matter our political views, we must be willing to listen to each other and come together. If we can’t, I fear for what the future holds.
Author's Note: At press time, the 2020 presidential election was undecided.
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