Politics. It’s one of three big no no’s at any dinner party, and sadly one of the most despairing and divisive aspects of our society. Regardless of ideology, everyone seems to be fed up, saying enough is enough. Echoing the words of Peter Finch’s character in the 1976 film "Network," - “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore” - people are demanding change in one way or another. From the primaries to the bathrooms, the public are up in arms.
I’m not denying it; things could be better. The things we are certain of are small, and if you scroll down most people’s newsfeeds on Facebook, anything pertaining to politics or any issue will be met with polarization. But, as a millennial, I am getting tired of people treating today as though it’s time to crack open Revelations. Is it really end times? Every attack in the world, every political story, every change and people crawl into a nostalgic hole of yearning for the “simpler” and “better” times. Now, history isn’t my favorite subject, but for those of you who like to assert that this country has never faced this kind of polarization or these kinds of threats we do today, do the events of the past 70 years not hold importance? We’ve faced close elections (Kennedy, Carter, Bush), xenophobia (McCarthyism, Cold War), and national upheaval (the Civil Rights movement) before, and these are just a few major ones if we’re being honest. For anyone who thinks it’s worse now, go Google how American kids had to practice hiding under their desks during the Cold War. I didn’t live during the Civil Rights in the 60s or the energy crisis in the 70s or the college protests of the Vietnam War, but I imagine they weren’t pleasant experiences.
People used to be beaten or arrested because they drank from the wrong water fountain. People used to use the workplace as a platform to shame people of different ethnicities. People used to be considered traitors because they refused to fight in a war that made no sense to them. People used to question the state of a woman's marriage if she had a job. People used to be forbidden from loving whom they’re inherently attracted to because it was considered immoral. People used to consider race to be a more important factor in college admissions than grades. People used to be considered irrelevant because they weren’t considered “American.”
The sad part is that many of these things still happen and are still true today. And some of you might even say “well that was then, this is now.” No. You can’t do that. You can’t say we used to be great and strong and united, and then disregard the imperfections we had and challenges we faced. We’ve come a long way, and we’re far from perfect, but we have to take the good with the bad. Today’s problems are our problems, but it was never sunshine and rainbows. And just because it sounds different (compare "Some Girls" to "Rack City") or looks different (compare "All in the Family" to "South Park") doesn’t make it worse. Styles change, views change and people change. Society changes, so get over it.
We are a country built on compromises, on experimentation and progress. We are a country composed of differences, and that’s something some people refuse to accept, but they should. Yes, there are cases of oversensitivity, but the people who take offense at everything are just as narrow-minded as the people who refuse to compromise or accept change. There are pros and cons to every person, to every generation, and ours is getting picked on because we’re the youngest. But we are not all ignorant. We are not all entitled, and neither are you to an America that never existed. We are all entitled to one thing: our opinion. This election is proof, and that at the very least unites us. So, with the race for president in mind, consider perhaps, not necessarily your preference, but, for the sake of compromise, who you believe will get us to the next election cycle.
