When I saw the recent election results, my first thought was that this will drive a wedge through the already massive cracks that divide our country. My second thought was, “What can I do now?” And the only answer I have is that we need to start making friends with our political opponents.
It seems to just be a fact of everyday life that America is now made up of political groups with not only mutually exclusive ideologies and moral standards but also their own views of who should be treated with respect.
Even though everyone is aware of these tightening bubbles we all seem to be trapped within, no one seems to be willing to do the obvious and reach out from that bubble to just talk to someone on the other side.
I don’t mean for a ‘debate’ or to try and ‘win someone over.’ I mean simply going over to someone who has completely different political views than you and just talking to them like another human being. Because that’s just what they are: another human being, with many of the same hopes and dreams, and fears and challenges that you may have.
Our current political groups seem to teach that everyone who disagrees with them must be evil, crazy, racist, or stupid. But even if they are, they’re still human. You can still make the everyday human connections that you’re already making with someone you disagree with politically, no matter how passionately disagree with them.
In fact, I think that you can go even further. I think that, secretly, people of both major ideologies have a lot of the same values and ideals, and I think that you can make deep personal connections with a political enemy.
Just keep an open mind. You may not convince someone to join your side, but they may convince you, and don’t be afraid of that. Even if you disagree with 99% of what someone else says, there may be a little nugget of truth that you agree with. Start from there, and see what following that truth tells you about yourself.
