Why Can’t We All Just Get Along??? The Politics of Political Segregation
It’s always interesting to hear from people who think you’re a complete idiot without ever having met you. Let me explain…I’ve finally joined the “Twitterlution,” primarily so that I can instantly get news updates no matter where I am in the world.
In an effort to be a well-rounded liberal, I follow a lot of conservatives. Not so I can make fun of them, but so that I can see what their concerns are…what they care about. I want to know how they view political events. I’m around a lot of liberals and moderate conservatives, so I want to know and understand where the hardliners are coming from. I can also get pretty extreme from time to time, so having intelligent (and not so intelligent) discussion with people whose opinions are different from mine is vital.
So what’s been happening? Some of them have labeled me the “enemy.” Some of them have decided to attack what I’ve said, one of which surprisingly chose the most nonpartisan statement I’ve made yet to attack me. I’m pretty sure I’ve been blocked by a couple, not because I’ve attacked them, but because they’re afraid.
I’m not innocent either. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t antagonize a conservative or two (or 200…who knows?) I find I’m much more aggressive when I’m around other liberals or when I’m online. Anonymity has a strange effect on people.
This all got me thinking…Why can’t we get along?
The truth is that conservatives and liberals of all stripes want the same things from their life and their country: freedom, prosperity, safety, happiness. The only thing that separates us is how we believe these ends can best be achieved.
**WARNING: Generalizations about Liberals and Conservatives coming up! Not every Liberal or every Conservative believes the following. However, these generalizations are based on Liberal and Conservative CORE IDEOLOGY.
Liberals believe that creating a prosperous society for everyone begins with leveling the playing field and helping our fellow man, giving everyone a chance to foster their talents regardless of class, race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc; Conservatives believe that prosperity can only be achieved by allowing people to succeed (0r fail) on their own accord, and that helping the downtrodden will only weaken them by making them reliant on the state. Liberals believe that the best way to ensure a healthy, functional society is to allow people to make their own decisions about their body; Conservatives believe that the best way to ensure a healthy, functional society is to encourage morality through legislation.
See what I mean? We all want the same things, so why do the politically engaged segregate themselves like fans of rival sports teams?
The Sports Analogy (Look Ya’ll! I’m Taking a Cue from Palin!)
Diehard sports fans make an interesting analogy to understand why we self-segregate based on political ideology.
Sports fans are very knowledgeable about the sport they love. They know all the rules, they know all the teams, they know all the stadiums and what makes each stadium unique…they’re passionate about the sport. They have their favorite teams, sometimes because it’s their local team, sometimes it’s just because. They also have teams they hate.
So why do they have teams they hate? Doesn’t every team play the same sport the fans are passionate about? Why do fans hate one another when they have so much in common?
If it’s not the fans who benefit from team rivalries, then who does?
Easy! The team. If everybody loved every team equally, then there would be fewer ticket sales, fewer merchandise sales, and overall less marketing potential. Do you think the Boston Red Socks would be as popular (or make as much $$) if not for their rivalry with the NY Yankees?
Sports team management exists for the purpose of making MONEY. Money allows them to buy better players, and thus keep the sports franchise ALIVE. They make more money by convincing their fans that they need to show their team spirit to defeat their rivals.
Political parties, on the other hand, exist for the sole purpose of GETTING THEIR PARTY INTO POLITICAL OFFICE. For political parties, the only way they can stay relevant is to keep their followers in line by vilifying the other side. What would happen if moderate Democrats started to vote for in droves for moderate Republicans? It would weaken the Democratic party. Republicans and Democrats need us to be against one another so we can unify behind THEIR candidates…and nothing unifies like having an enemy. Don’t believe me? Think about how unified we were following 9/11!
Political parties make us hate one another and convince us that their way is the only way to save the country. They tell us what we should believe and we spew their talking points. Instead of thinking about WHY we believe what we say we do; we let them do our thinking for us. We don’t research issues like we should, and when we debate it shows…because instead of having an informed discussion, we simply hurl insults at one another.
They win, we lose. Keeping us this divided weakens our country, but strengthens their political power and influence. Bipartisanship in general doesn’t benefit either party, which is why you usually only hear about it when one party complains about how unwilling the other party is to work together. They are acting in their own self interest, not ours.
And that, ladies and gentleman, is why I’m an independent. I encourage all of you to think independently too.
Do YOUR part to elevate political discussion by challenging people who use talking points instead of facts. Instead of automatically assuming that a liberal or conservative is an idiot, take the time to listen to what they say and try to find common ground. Realize that we all want a safe, prosperous country, we just have different ideas on how best to get there. If we can’t unite in our similarities and understand our differences, then we’re doing nothing but pissing each other off with no purpose. If we can’t speak TO one another instead of yelling PAST one another, then we’re just as bad as Congress…and at only a 12-18% approval rating, that’s not a good thing.
Well, whaddaya know? I’m pretty sure I’ve found something we can all agree on!
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About Chardon Moore:
Chardon Moore is a political junkie, LGBT ally, and the webmistress of LiberalMartyr.com. She’s been a human and civil rights activist for over a decade, as well as working in broadcast media, academia, and state government. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ChardonMoore.
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