Let’s Listen To Each Other And Avoid The Next Civil War

With the results of the election and the upheaval of hatred and protests regarding social justice, it’s obvious as to why people are reacting the way they are. To someone like myself that is neither a registered voter nor aligned with either of the reigning political factions, to sit back and see the further division of the United States of America and the behavior of its citizens has me beside myself.

Both sides have their shortcomings. Neither conservatives nor liberals are these be-all-end-all messianic figures they both like to envision themselves as being. Sorry, but it’s true. You’re human, you have faults. Your passion for your beliefs drive you. We all understand this, although sometimes it may not always be respected by some, nor is it always the correct course of action.

So with that being said, all of this has brought out the extremists of both sides. 

On the one hand, we have the extreme conservative hate groups and highly religious folks who are singing the praises of President-Elect Trump. They’re going out of their way to preach their truly hateful messages of hate, bigotry, and prejudice. They’re harassing one another on the streets and in schools. They’re vandalizing their messages in public places and causing people to live in fear of violence and judgment. Which isn’t okay whatsoever. This is what happens when we put too much stock in what one person says and follow what we’re being force-fed on the TV, newspapers, and magazines. This is also making the right look awful an further gives way to the left generalizing almost all conservatives as being the same. Not every right-winger you meet is going to be an awful, hateful human being like the media is portraying them as being if you just take the time to hear them out without your own judgment.

On the other hand, we have the left that has resorted to extreme protests and outrage around the country with their rallying cry of #notmypresident. It’s caused them to further push their own agenda of social justice to the point of being just as hateful and loud as what they’re claiming to hate. They’ve even resorted to identifying themselves with safety pins if they aren’t actively protesting with others and Hollywood.

Wanting people to treat others with respect and to be polite, respectful, and tolerant (which goes both ways) of others is a good thing. So please don’t misunderstand or read between the lines here. The amount of outrage and protests and how it’s being conducted is making the left look awful in their own regard. It’s making them come off as if they’re throwing a tantrum for not getting their way and conducting witch hunts for anyone who may be against their causes. Not all liberals are like this. It’s the loudest ones and the fact that how the media is portraying them as well with their activism and protests. Again, it’s the extremist mentality behind their movements and paying too close attention to the mainstream media tends to get folks inflamed.

By now, we should have realized and understood that not everyone is going to agree with each other on absolutely everything. This past election year should have proved not only that, but how extreme people have become as a result.

Does it make it right what either side is doing and how they’re behaving towards their rivals? No. All it’s doing is just continuing to divide us as a country and a species. These stories are being spun by reporters and news stations with their own biased reporting. Being that we love to stay current with what’s going on in the world, we can’t help but turn on Fox News, MSNBC, or pick up a newspaper or magazine with the latest headline or bias. We as human beings have allowed ourselves to be riled up, brainwashed, and driven insane by all of this. We also have the option of disconnecting ourselves from what it is that plagues us, whether it’s the TV, social media, or printed journalism and to think for ourselves outside of what’s being force-fed to us.

Now I personally don’t have the answers as to how to fix a situation like this. I’m the furthest thing from a politician. The only thing I personally can do is draw attention to the fact and just hope that at least one person will stumble across this and think to themselves, “You know what? That makes a certain amount of sense.” I can, however, speak from personal experience that learning to ignore and walk away from the constant barrage of bias and information can definitely improve your personal outlook. Not to mention, it may even change how you perceive others in the sense of not looking for the worst in others. If we want to be more unified as a species, we have to stop seeing what we want to and what actually is. That goes for both conservatives and liberals alike.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Try it for yourself. It won’t cost you anything, except maybe learning to let go of your ego, bias, and what ails you about the world and others. You may even learn something new about something or someone in the process if you’re open enough to it. Go on, I dare you.