In today’s political and social landscape, disagreements seem to become more bitter and extreme as time progresses. Now more than ever, people have forgotten that you can disagree with someone but still respect their opinion. Moreover, it seems as though even more arguments and disagreements are taking place because the internet has made it so much easier to talk to other people – including the people with whom we disagree.

In the age of the internet, one must always remember that a person’s experiences shapes their views; therefore, having different experiences leads to holding different views. Since not every person has had the same experiences, one cannot expect everyone else to agree with each other on everything. In order to coexist with those of opposing views, one thing is critical: respect.

Without respect, arguments never end, gridlocks form and relationships come to an end. This can be seen in all levels of society – ranging from neighborhoods to the federal government – on both sides of the political spectrum. This can easily be seen when scrolling through Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, where arguments centering on politics and social issues are extremely common. What starts as one person posting their political views transforms into a disagreement which in turn evolves into a full-blown argument. People seemingly fail to realize that just because they post their opinions online for others to see, other people are still allowed to comment in disagreement. Furthermore, users seemingly lack the respect for other users to have an opinion that differs from their own without lecturing those who hold those opposing viewpoints.

This lack of respect also spreads into political advertising and commentary, with politicians’ family members even falling prey to attacks based on their appearance, demeanor and past. Not only is this incredibly disrespectful, it is also entirely unreasonable; the appearance of a politician’s spouse holds no bearing over that politician’s competency. Thus, the amount of time and attention paid to over-analyzing these family members of politicians is honestly shameful.

It seems as though the lack of respect was more prevalent in the 2016 presidential election than most other elections, seeing as the candidates from both of the major parties referred to large portions of the constituency as “deplorable” or “stupid” on account of their opposing beliefs. By using such a harsh narrative, it is easy to see how gridlock is formed. Without respect for the beliefs of other parties, there is no willingness to compromise. This just leads to a political game of chicken which ultimately leads to a government shut-down. It is almost as if those who lead this country forget that a major contributor to the creation and development of this nation was compromise.

How can we as a nation avoid deteriorating as a result of this lack of respect? Firstly, we as a nation must grow more aware of the reasoning behind the conflicting views in America. It seems as though people are currently almost afraid to compromise, which is understandable considering people tend to fear what they do not understand; however, this does not excuse refusing to attempt to understand the opponents’ viewpoints. By actually taking the time to listen to the experiences of other groups and individuals, we can begin to bridge the gap of understanding which is currently only expanding.

Secondly, we must replace fear with respect. While this will take a tremendous amount of work, the pay off will be equally tremendous. In the current political landscape – the transitioning of presidential administrations – it is easy to see why so many people are currently living in fear. However, many others in the United States fail to see where this fear stems from, thus refusing to acknowledge the validity of this fear. In order to reverse this fear, we as a nation must point out the source of this fear and work to correct the cause of the fear.

Furthermore, people must be willing to be patient with others as they attempt to understand the viewpoints of others. More importantly, people must stop seeing arguments and disagreements as an opportunity to change the minds of others. People hold their views for a reason, and (now more than ever) it is likely that they will not be easily swayed as a result of points made during an argument.

Instead of viewing an argument as an opportunity to change the minds of others, view it as a chance to simply share your views. Your focus should be to open minds, not cause tensions or anger. Finally, speak to others as you would wish to be spoken to. No one enjoys being talked down to because your beliefs are not identical. In order to gain respect from others, we must also be willing to give respect to others. Only then can we grow more respectful as a nation.