“We think we listen, but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy. Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know.” – Carl Rogers

The midterm elections are only a couple of weeks away and the political climate in America is reaching its inevitable tipping point. We’ve seen identity politics intensify at an alarming rate, causing a number of people to solely identify with their political party, and proclaim their group as virtuous and paramount. This has clearly contributed to the polarizing culture of America, 

So, what can Americans do to progress through these intense and uncertain times? For me to claim the answer lies somewhere within this article would be foolish, but as far as I’m concerned, the following proposals here are nothing short of reasonable and tolerable – no matter your political or cultural stance.

Scrolling through social media and stumbling upon content that displays and encourages polarization is a large part of the problem, insofar as the manner in which we react. This isn’t to say that protection from seeing offensive content is necessary – in fact, quite the contrary. It’s to say that we absolutely need to see the polarization in full effect – whether through a phone screen or personally – and not react in outrage. Of course this is easier said than done, but we must keep our posterity in mind while continuing through the upcoming years, given the potential threats in which we’ll be facing (climate change, AI, centralized governments, etc.).

It’s become popular to post and share political content on social media platforms – a luxury in which we’re fortunate to have – however, many users have clearly been posting content to either virtue signal or create unnecessary drama. To consider these actions as “wrong” would be rather ignorant, as everyone has the right to post anything they want, but to assume that malicious intent on social media doesn’t translate into the public sphere would be just as ignorant. After all, it’s difficult to ignore the fact that many online users who partake in political dialogue separate themselves into their preferred tribes, and explicitly seek controversy.

Will there be consequences if we continue to “troll” others just to relish in their ensuing aggravation?  How about if we continue to scream and lash out at each other due to the constant promotion of the “get your point across by any means necessary” notion? Perhaps there’s no singular result (although I strongly doubt that assumption), but the fact of the matter is this: listening and genuinely trying to understand each other without reacting on emotional conviction could lead to a significant advancement in the way we discuss important and controversial topics. The stressful, exciting, and uncertain times we’re witnessing now could potentially be a true testament to our worth as a species, and keeping in mind the importance in discussion and cohesion has never been so crucial.