In seventh or eighth grade, I do not remember which, an author visited my school to market his book, which had an intended audience of middle schoolers. I do not remember much from the event, or even who the author was or what his book was about, but I do remember him pulling up a picture of the antagonist on his presentation, and saying, “All antagonists are protagonists in their own stories.”
After he said that, I thought something along the lines of “Well, duh.” It seemed like a pretty obvious thing to say. It is fairly observable human behavior that in pursuing one’s own desires, no one sets out to make the world a worse place. Couldn’t anyone easily figure out that the antagonist of a book has to be the protagonist in his or her own story? This election cycle has led me to doubt that in the way that Republicans and Democrats have been treating each other and the world. With highly polarized politics, whatever the other side is, people on it are not viewed as humans but as enemies, and so before the nation tears itself apart, can we please end this culture war and understand one another.
I grew up in a conservative family in a very liberal area and now attend a conservative college that does have a few very liberal students. This has led me to have friends on all sides of the political spectrum, and have the gift, yes the gift, of never being surrounded with friends who I completely agree with on political issues. This has allowed me to say with certainty something that may come as a surprise to a few voters. The vast majority of conservative Republicans are not ignorant, angry, gun touting bigots who hate all people who are not white male straight rich Americans. The vast majority of liberal Democrats are not people without respect for the family, who hate Americans and business, and want to give away America to the rest of the world at the expense of Americans. Are there a few extreme people on both sides? -Sure, but the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats both are humans who want happiness, security for their families, and for their children to inherit a better tomorrow. Instead of realizing this people bring out the hate.
Both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of hate. The Republican Party elected its presidential nominee on a foundation of hate, hatred rooted in fear of anyone different and poor, as displayed with the wall bordering Mexico, the spewing of hatred and fear of all illegal immigrants at the RNC even though many people die attempting to cross the border, then a police chief shouting “Blue lives matter!” in a direct response to the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the refusal to allow refugees to enter the country on the grounds that they will be terrorists despite the numerous images of suffering children.
Although the Democratic Party might see itself as the party of compassion, and the right on against the hatred that spews from the Republican Party, it cannot claim innocence either, for there is hatred rooted Facebook pages like “Americans Against the Republican Party” that imply that the entire Republican Party is bad. Moreover, there is also liberal shaming of conservatives. Lady Grey’s note to Ivanka Trump on donating to the Clinton foundation, was nothing more than an act of spite because she happens to be supporting her father. Additionally the focus on being politically correct censures truth, slanted news, and many sources that portray conservative beliefs as the wrong, not that conservative sources do not do it also, there is liberal hatred of conservatism. Furthermore, there is liberal elitism in the culture that is just as closed minded as the side it rejects in its refusal to acknowledge any differing beliefs. Many conservatives feel oppressed by the liberal culture and media.
What both sides are especially guilty of, which has led to the hatred, is the adamant refusal to hear differing perspectives. Everything is polarized, but just as it is no accident that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are their respective parties’ nominees, it is no accident that people hold their beliefs. For generations, poor white conservatives have been fed the idea that their whiteness is what keeps them up, what somehow makes them superior and believe the like that if other ethnic groups advance, then they will be demoted in society. They believe that they are the true Americans and that policies that support impoverished minorities will only throw them deeper into poverty as opposed to advancing them. Liberals deaf to this only add fuel to the fire when write pieces on news platforms making requests such as asking Michael Phelps to surrender his flag bearing position to a Ibtihaj Muhammed, the hijab wearing Muslim fencer. Although the gesture would have been a great representation of American diversity, it would have been a slap in the face conservative Americans who would feel that their identity has been turned over to an “enemy.”
Back to the antagonist also being a protagonist in his or her own story. Acquiring beliefs is a process that takes time. People do not just wake up in the morning and decide that they are going to believe something. A story is behind every acquisition of beliefs. People believe what they believe what they believe because of the people they surround themselves with, the news and media that they are exposed to, and their upbringing. Changing beliefs requires the undoing of the long process that it took to acquire them, so getting into spats in debates and internet comments sections will not change anything, but will only continue the cycle of hatred and misunderstanding.
What people of this culture need to do is listen to one another, and although it is impossible to get everyone to agree, people can at least make the effort to gain understanding of the other side. We must stop the hatred and have dialogue. Although it may be true that some people are too far gone do dare listening to someone on the other side, my challenge to the citizens of this great country is to make an effort to stop the hatred by sitting down face to face with someone you know you disagree with on many political issues, and having a conversation, not a spat over the internet or text messages, in which you exchange your stories of belief and why you believe it. Then you will be able to return home remembering the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that” knowing that by doing so, you will have made America a better place.
