Political polarization is currently the bane of American life. We as a citizenry have become so pushed to the extremes of political opinion and action that we can barely hear each other. If you are not talking about what I want to hear the way I want to hear it, I cannot hear you. The same is true from your side. How in the world are we ever going to reach common ground if we cannot “listen” and “hear” each other? We get stuck in nowhere-land with little chance of exit or repair. If you and I were devastated at the same location and moment by a natural or unnatural disaster, we would be forced to work together for our common good regardless of our political or other disagreements. We might even become friends through our necessary physical survival activity. I know that seems strange, but stranger things that that have happened in my life.
America’s political polarization freezes us in time and activity and allows for no forward motion or repair. Our election process illustrates the polarization. We scream at our politicians because of their non-action in fixing what ails us. The political pundits and media continually feed and feed off this polarization (more about this part in a moment). What if you and I who disagree on any subject both contact our common political representative and demand that they act to each of our individual satisfaction. Just how does that representative make this particular conundrum work? Each of us has the right to expect that our vote counted toward what we individually believed. That is why we cast our vote for specific individuals. Unless you are a party-line voter, you ordinarily would vote for the representative that agrees with your personal stand on important issues. It would be rare to find a representative (or any other person) who agrees with you on every issue. We do not even get that with our own family.
At times we individually get to make difficult choices between those issues. In order for your opinion to count in any way, you must vote. A current example of a conflict within personal issues is environment versus energy needs. Do we continue to pay the price energy-wise which has us all economically screaming (no argument there) or do we continue our decimation of our environment and the resultant and natural backlash. Ask anyone who has recently gone through severe weather devastation of any form whether they are willing to face the destructive force of nature such as a hurricane, flood, earthquake, tornado or tsunami… or pay more for energy. To understand the difference you just have to be willing to stand in a victim’s shoes as they faced the fury of nature. Such experience tends to be mind changing!
We already decided that we personally cannot solve our disagreement and that is why we would take personal
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