Think about the way you would describe a young liberal person and a young conservative person. Assuming you use the very “traditional” perspective, I think your description may be the same as many others. Let’s give it a shot:

Liberal: Dresses in cool, casual clothing. Possibly tattoos, probably piercings even if only on the ears. If they have a bag it may have some pins on it, their laptop probably has at least one sticker supporting a cause or organization. Hair style may be weird. Either “dirty hippy” or your average hoodie wearer. Might smoke weed.

Conservative: Relatively stylish, clean cut look. If they have a tattoo it’s related to Christianity or some small artistic animal. Talks kind of fast, may be argumentative. Involved in their on-campus politics, and possibly a fraternity/sorority. More formal in their movements and general manner of speaking. May be kind of rich.

Simply put, these are HUGE generalizations. It’s the images that come to mind when we first think of “liberal” and “conservative” in terms of a young person (as I believe older individuals have some very different generalizations). These descroptions may not be completely spot on to everyone’s thoughts, but the major points are there: physical appearance and some personality traits. Enforced by the media, both in fiction and what chooses to be publicized from reality, these stereotypes are what we expect and what we’re comfortable with.

Well, they’re both wrong. I’m here to call BS on what we all think we know about “liberals” and “conservatives”. To start off, these political ideologies have such complex definitions, as they are constantly changing from their traditional meanings. Today, it’s nearly impossible to categorize an individual into either “box” because of the variety of ideals and values that cannot be labeled as part of one ideology or the other.

I believe that all humans understand this complexity, however, our tendency to categorize takes over and we feel extremely uncomfortable in realizing that nothing is truly black and white. Not to mention, these stereotypes can only be applied to the AMERICAN culture in relation to its politics in only this time period. Simply analyzing all the limitations to these stereotypes and the ways in which we can correctly use them (which is basically never) makes it extremely difficult for them to remain valid.

With all of this taken into consideration, here is the most important part: these stereotypes that we expect young liberals and conservatives to fill simply cannot be applied to everyone. You may see someone and immediately think “They’re conservative/liberal, I just know it” and be completely distant from the truth. We use our tendency to categorize as a defense mechanism for our own “common sense” that we assume is right all the time.

I was sitting in a bus on my way home from university with three girls from my class. At this point, after seeing them around, talking with a few of them, and being in class with them for about a month, I had already created perceptions of what I believed their political views were. Let me set the scene:

-One girl is a missionary who dresses relatively formal, has short blonde hair, and represents the typical American girl I’ve come to recognize. She’s friendly, outgoing, and always has an opinion.

-Another dresses sporty, or simply casual, and has shared in depth conversations with me about drugs, politics, and what it’s like being in journalism today (we’ve always been on the same page).

-The last one dresses casual but very trendy, this specific night wearing an embroidered denim jacket. She often takes off her shoes in class and is from Northern California. Talks in a comedic and lax manner.

So, I’ll allow you as a reader to make your assumptions on their political views or values, simply so that I can further prove my point. Spoiler alerts ahead. All three share a conservative viewpoint. They don’t necessarily support our current president, but less for his policies and more for his tarnishing of the republican party. The last one mentioned outwardly expressed her dislike for Obama, and they all discussed with me their complaints about our professor’s liberal comments in class. Shocked? So was I. My expectations of these three girls completely changed during a 15 minute bus ride home, as I started off the ride believing there was only one conservative within the group (I assume you can guess). So you see? The stereotypes for these political ideologies are BS.

We have all become too leary and judgmental of each other. We expect some people to have opposite views from ourselves, based on our perceptions of them, so we steer clear and decide off the bat that they do not deserve the time of day. We hear “Republican” or “Democrat” and immediately assume the owners of these titles hold specific views and support certain people. This is so far from the case that I’ve begun questioning all my previous perceptions of those around me.

We’re all too scared to even ask, so we assume. Those who fear arguments keep their mouths shut and their contrasting opinions to themselves. Is this the right way to live in a society? Absolutely not! Where do cultural breakthroughs come from if not heated debate? How can we expand our minds without allowing ourselves to be uncomfortable in situations? Learning how to ask hard questions and receive even harder answers is the key, and this does not happen when we surround ourselves with only what we want to hear. Safety nets and protective bubbles will be the end of the crucial discourse that keeps democracy in the the U.S.

So I challenge you. Talk to people who you may dislike. Grind your teeth, roll your eyes, and sneer sarcastically while listening to those who believe in everything you’re against. But listen. If someone can provide you with a solid argument, no matter how outrageous, they deserve to be listened to. Ignore the pre-conceptions; I guarantee they’re wrong.