Donald Trump’s tax returns. Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal. A country more polarized than most Americans can remember. There is no atmosphere heavier with political energy than the American university, and we are all contributors to a developing madness that stems from our unwillingness to tolerate or understand the other side.
In a speech responding to Dallas’s five slain police officers, George W. Bush asserted, “Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions.” We tend to declare own candidate immaculate and absolve them of all wrongdoings, as we throw stones at the opposition for the smallest imperfection. Clinton and Trump may be controversial figures that excel at the art of duplicity, but they are also fierce defenders of their personal ideologies -- a noble, praiseworthy characteristic that they both share and deserves attention, too.
Young people, soon to emerge into the job market, understand the significance of the impending election. We want a president that will protect us, stand by our side, and represent our generation with flying colors. It’s not that we disagree on what we want; it’s how we want it.
Why are we so attached to our political identities? We live in a time where we are badgered about our beliefs, criticized for how we got there, and even questioned on our moral character.We must build an arsenal of support to cling to in the event our opinion is challenged and open to scrutiny. We depend on this arsenal to protect us from social isolation and intellectual criticism, to deem us worthy of having an opinion even when we are inherently entitled to it. This arsenal is constantly expanding, being supplied with arguments molded to support our side without acknowledging the legitimacy of the other.
We should support our candidates avidly and relentlessly. But to write off the other side as uninformed and naïve is condescending, ignorant, and unbeneficial to ourselves, for how can we support something if it’s the only thing we know? How can our own opinion be right if we don’t understand what’s wrong?
We become so wrapped up in our own political ideologies that we develop tunnel vision. It’s fine to support your candidate, it’s even fine to denounce the other candidate, but criticizing your opposing candidate’s supporters is doing nothing but further polarizing America.
So next time you’re unfriended on Facebook for stating your legitimate, nonabrasive political opinion, don’t delete the post. Next time you’re harassed for speaking out against a popular belief, don’t digress from your original stance if you arrived there logically. Don’t make apologies. You are not the problem. You are tolerating their intolerance.
