Naomi Gould ’22
Like many other teens, social media is a staple in my daily life. I’ll open up Instagram and scroll through stories that say “Unfollow me if you don’t support the Black Lives Matter movement” and “No, I won’t be friends with you if you support a racist, homophobic, and xenophobic president.”
As someone who once posted similar statements, I am all too familiar with the exasperating feeling that ethical common ground on obvious problems is unattainable. We should be able to address topics such as racism, climate change, and COVID-19 without it devolving into a partisan struggle. Despite sharing the same frustration as the people who make these posts, I get uneasy when I see them, as they are unintentionally fueling the very problem they intend to stop.
Along with a rise in political polarization has come extreme party loyalty, threatening our ability to tackle key issues democratically. There now exists this notion, both on the right and the left, that one must support the doctrine of their party and oppose that of the other, no matter the specific issue. Nuanced political and social issues have been viewed as black and white, making many unwilling to listen to another point of view. A recent example of this is the primarily conservative All Lives Matter response to the Black Lives Matter movement, despite racism being complex enough an issue for a bipartisan, rational response.
In this political environment, it’s easy for liberals to categorize all conservative viewpoints as immoral or unethical and vice versa. However, I’d argue that when trying to fight for any given issue, saying “I cannot be friends with someone who doesn’t support this cause” worsens the problem.
Pushing people away, even if they seem to hold the most egregious or unethical opinions, perpetuates the concept that you are right and they are wrong, that the issue is entirely black and white, and that a side must be chosen. No one will pick your side while being unfriended, shut away, and shamed. Understanding our democracy was built in a way that requires compromise to function, the key to fighting for causes you care about must combat party loyalty, not encourage it.
The good news is that we’re already aware of how to achieve this solution. So many teens have reposted calls for “normalizing changing your mind,” and open-mindedness is critical in promoting unity and understanding. The bad news is that we’re approaching the solution from a hypocritical and one-sided standpoint. Many of these same teens continue to post the same polarizing right-and-wrong statements, conveying the belief that they are correct and no longer need to grow.
Though it’s difficult to broaden our perspectives when we believe we’re in the right, we must remember that growth can occur in both directions on the political spectrum. In order to see progress, in order to allow for compromise, we must reject the notion of party loyalty by ceasing to approach politics from an all-or-nothing standpoint.
the len(z) 