This divide is only getting wider, and that needs to stop.
When it comes to discussing politics, I learned almost everything I know from my parents, and so far it hasn't failed me yet. Many of those skills were featured on my article "14 Steps To A Civil Political Conversation." However, when I look around my college environment and the world of the internet, this political divide is getting larger. MUCH larger. Recently an article was published in St. Olaf's student newspaper, The Manitou Messenger. The Messenger's article told of the dwindling number of conservative-identifying students here at the college. Most students told of feeling ostracized and attacked for their beliefs, thereby leading them to leave the school.
With total honesty, I was pleased to read this article. In fact, my actual comment on the article shared on Facebook read, "If y'all wanna leave then k bye." It was brought to my attention that my comment sounded similar to the typical "If you don't like this country then get out," statement by most conservatives. I justified my Facebook comment by stating that I was not saying that conservatives students should leave, but that it was within their free will to leave if they so chose. But then it hit me: Why would I want them to leave?
No college is perfect. St. Olaf might have a nice reputation, but we can't ignore the fact this recent "us vs. them" mentality has permeated every inch of our beloved campus, and that is something I despise. I hate to see it online, and I hate to see it at college; people dividing themselves based on something like political beliefs. Without a doubt, every college is a bubble, separated from the actual real world of adults. Right now, all of my classmates and I are in this quizzical world surrounded by highly opinionated young adults and not much else. Sadly, highly opinionated individuals aren't quite the best at accepting differing opinions.
I Know, I Said It, Just Hear Me Out!
OK, I get that no one likes hearing that they're bad at listening to opinions that differ from their own. In fact, that's a fairly frequent comeback of each side against the other: "You're impossible to talk to! You're not even listening to my side! You're incapable of listening to someone's opinions other than your own!" Any of those sound familiar? Liberals have shouted this at conservatives, and vice versa. I know for sure that I'm not perfect either; I may have published an article all about political conversations, but that does not make me perfect. But unlike a few certain people I've met, I'm willing to learn how to get better at accepting differences, and I'm obviously not the only one. Sadly, the amount of these individuals is vastly outnumbered by (dare I say) hypocrites who are not actually that good with differing political conversations.
Trust me, I hate calling people "hypocrites." On the list of Terms that Make White People Really Upset, "hypocrite" is up there with "racist," "sexist," and other volatile terms. But we have to face the facts; if everyone was as accepting of other opinions as they claim to be, conservative students wouldn't be fleeing St. Olaf like birds in the fall. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...
DIVERSITY IS BEAUTIFUL.
And this does not only apply to racial/ethnic/sexual diversity, that includes political diversity. Even I, a loudly-proclaimed liberal, want conservative students to stay at Olaf, despite my initial reaction to the Messenger's article. In reference to the article, I spoke with a small group of friends about the matter. One person, in particular, raised the important point that anyone or their opinion that differs from the liberal/liberal-leaning norm of St. Olaf would "get crucified" by their peers. This observation is shockingly true, and it's not the sort of environment we should strive to have. Many of my liberal friends were appalled to hear the conservative students claim to feel "victimized," quick to call them hypocrites and say, "How could they be the victims when they're the ones who hate on women, minorities..." But what they sometimes forget is to try and see it from their perspective.
In perfect honesty, it took me a very long time to even begin to try this. To try and sympathize with conservatives seems like the largest taboo of any liberal such as myself, but that shouldn't matter. How is acceptable for us liberals to refuse showing the slightest sympathy to anyone who has conservative views? A frequent excuse of my friends' rejection of conservatives is that conservative students are unwilling to put themselves in the shoes of those they oppose. But in return, aren't we liberals doing the same thing? Why are we so quick to make everyone else the villain? At times it can be quite hard to try and sympathize with someone who is, frankly, terrible at political conversation (hence my second article). I know of a few crazy conservatives and some screaming liberals at St. Olaf, and even though each will claim that the other is a nut that is totally in the wrong, but to me, neither of them are in the right.
What are we doing wrong?
As I already stated, I've heard countless claims of liberals and conservatives alike express their disgust with such a polarized two-party system, but they fail to show those views when dealing with those with differing opinions. If everyone is so sick of this divide as they claim to be, why don't they do something about it? For instance, have you ever said a phrase such as "Conservatives are bigots," or have you ever written an article calling liberals "the true hypocrites"? Then you're part of the problem. But like with every problem, admitting there's a problem is the first step in solving it. So how do we do that? Well, it's going to be pretty hard.
Personally, I think St. Olaf students should be ashamed of putting conservative students in a position where they felt victimized, and I'm pretty shocked I'm actually saying that. Many people are quick to say that conservatives refuse to sympathize with the victimization of liberals or minorities, but we all have to be willing to extend everyone else the same courtesy. Once again, the golden rule comes into play. Treat everyone how you want to be treated, and that's how we can begin to be more understanding of each other. If you don't like people devaluing your struggles, then you should be willing to try and see someone else's struggles as well, even if you feel like you shouldn't. We have to face the facts; conservative and liberal students alike have been quite terrible to each other. Here at St. Olaf, there have multiple accounts of hate speech targeting black students, and liberals haven't done much to the same extent, but saying that the conservatives should just leave is NOT going to solve the problem.. Someone has to be the bigger person and admit their faults and work towards healing; absolutely nothing is going to be solved if we keep playing the blame game with each other.
We need to stop shouting at the "enemies" and just talk to each other. Something as simple as talking, instead of posting on Facebook your hatred of the other side, can do a lot to help solve this problem.
No one deserves to feel like an outsider that's hated by everyone around them. I certainly know that feeling and really wouldn't wish it upon any conservative I've ever met. I'm a loud advocate diversity, and that includes political diversity. I can say for certain that I'm sick of this divide between us that only seems to be getting bigger. But I'm willing to change it.
Are you?
