With all of the rancor and discord on constant display in the media, and indeed, in public conversation, it’s hard to remember that, as a nation, there is much more that unites us than divides us. The silos in which we take refuge have become smoke-filled echo chambers, and the polarized lenses through which we view everything keep us from seeing the big picture. Our culture has evolved into one of blame and denial, where demolition is preferred over building. Many of us hunger for a common cause, something to bring us together.
There is an incessant tendency to label everyone: liberal or conservative, gay or straight, black or white, right or wrong, Republican or Democrat, thin or fat; and that’s just for starters. The result of all these labels is judgment; we judge people based on the labels we assign to them. Often our judgment is based on inbred, non-genetic prejudices. As humans, we are endowed with the incomparable ability to think for ourselves, but many of us succumb to our programming and incomprehensibly choose to avoid doing so.
The media has been blamed for much of the current sociopolitical dysfunction. In reality, today’s news media is a consequence of our cultural devolution. It thrives on chaos and controversy, and both feeds on and nourishes the stories it tells. Very few networks, news anchors, or beat reporters are without bias, and their quests for sound bites and gotcha moments tend to make them part of the story in a vampiry sort of way.
It seems that there are two major poles that separate most of us. One sees things in terms of their own self-interests, while the other sees things in terms of the greater good (here we go with labels again). Obviously, there are gradients between the two, but most people seem to gravitate toward one pole or the other. These tendencies are manifest in strong support of individual rights and collective (human) rights, respectively. It is difficult to find common ground between these seemingly mutually exclusive points of view, but that’s where the solution lies. Finding that common ground is imperative if we are to survive and thrive. We see fleeting glimpses of what that common ground could look like when disasters strike and we all pull together. But depending on disasters to avoid one isn’t a viable strategy.
To incentivize the opposing factions to open the doors to their silos, clear the smoke, and air their differences, they need to be reminded that the great advances we’ve achieved and the growth we’ve seen as a nation have been forged through compromise and a recognition that the true measure of a democracy is greater than the sum of its parts. Communication is the key to resolving differences. We must be open to the opposing views of others, and respect their positions as no less valid than our own. However, to do so we need to dampen the echos and stifle the judgments that keep us from being objective. We must find a way to build bridges between the silos and air them out, and we should take an unfiltered look at reality once in a while. It’s something we can and must do together.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to watch a news show and come away feeling uplifted? Wouldn’t it be nice if the major news networks made a conscious effort to promote positive news, or constructively address the challenges of the day? Perhaps we could try to build a judgment-free, all for one and one for all adult community somewhere between Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street. Maybe we can achieve that by adopting a simple slogan – “TOGETHER.”