Seeking a Difference Of Opinion

I don’t know when it happened or what set it in motion. It feels as though it happened all at once, but I suspect it was a slow burn. So slow that no one noticed until it was too late. For many, they probably don’t remember a time when it wasn’t this way. But I do. I remember when neighbors cared about neighbors and friends and family were the people we could count on. It was a time when conversations could be had with others in our circles and communities who had differing opinions and relationships didn’t dangle in the balance because those opinions could not be swayed.

Most conversations were had face to face, not screen to screen. Perhaps even over the phone where the familiar voice on the other end could project inflections into the thoughts being shared. I think that changes the outcome in many situations. When you’re sitting across from a friend who disagrees on current events, you still see your friend. Their face is the same face that has smiled, laughed, and perhaps cried with you throughout your life. You see the person beyond the opinion and it is so much easier to cast aside differences and agree to disagree. Perhaps, you might even be compelled to ask why they feel the way they do about the subject.

Today’s reality is that entire families have been broken to pieces because of political opinion, religious opinion, and medical opinion. Lifetime friendships cast aside according to whatever the talking heads deem worthy of your attention this week. It was us against them. Now it’s me against you. It seems like it’s all part of the plan. Divide to conquer at any cost.

I fully believe that people have their reasons for their opinions on politics, religion, and how they make their medical decisions. Those reasons are as varied as the fish in the sea. I don’t believe that it is my place to invalidate those reasons or opinions. Sometimes I like to ask a person who has a difference of opinion how they got to that particular stance and I am almost always astonished at how their explanation broadens my world view. That is how the world used to work.

The fear of being canceled; having your life, career, and friendships destroyed because of differing opinions has become a sad reality. The unexpected outcome is an entire generation and probably generations to come who will live in fear of sharing their views on the world. We will all be little yes bots who agree with the hive in public, but are secretly and incredibly depressed behind the scenes because we don’t truly agree with any of it. Bullying is “frowned” upon in school but widely accepted in every single other facet of our lives.

I hope that at some point people will awaken and realize that for every dissenting opinion being silenced, diversity is lost. For every new idea that is not in line with the hives’ view of how the world works, the potential for innovation is killed. There is a reason freedom of speech is one of the most valued and sought after superpowers in the world. It can single handedly bring down a corrupt government, lift our most vulnerable up out of darkness, and light the fire of unity amongst the segregated.

If you happened upon a terrible car accident, would you consider whether the unfortunate victims were Trump supporters or liberals before rendering assistance? Would you ask them if they’d been vaccinated before calling 911? I know you were just thrown through a windshield and need CPR, but what’s your stance on the border situation? The thought is ridiculous.

I believe that humans need each other. Every man for himself leads to a sad and lonely outcome. Political opponents come and go. If we had more conversations and fewer 150 character posts on social media, maybe we would see that our hopes for the world aren’t that much different at all. We must strive to accept and appreciate differing viewpoints as if our lives depend upon it, because it does.