Bring A New Perspective to an Exhausted Topic- Challenge Yourself Outside of Group Think

My favorite thing about our species is that there are as many unique perspectives as there are humans. How truly miraculous! Our experiences, values, and perceptions come together to create ideas and thoughts completely exclusive to us. I believe that is our superpower, and something so extraordinary that should be celebrated, shared, and valued.

Our world is in a fragile state right now. Our ecosystem is at risk with climate change accelerating, a global pandemic is hurting us all, and starvation and disease still plagues areas around the globe. These expansive issues that we are facing across the world all boil into one neat little topic: politics. An overwhelmingly exhausted affair that is becoming obliterated by biased news sources. My hope in this piece is not to change your perspective, but instead to change the way you approach it.

Politics is such a fascinating topic. It’s broad. It’s messy. It’s fiery and sparked by passion. It’s speculative. It brings forth strong individual beliefs in what change will be of best interest to our country and our future. And there is never just one right answer or a single best way to approach an issue. However, as we become desperate for change in a healing world; we are becoming more and more polarized in our rigid belief systems. We are categorizing people into left or right, and labeling them. It is becoming a loaded, sensitive, off-limits conversation that is caked with judgement, shame, and generalizations. A very counterproductive approach to facilitating any form of change.

I want to challenge us all to not partake in this simplified version of politics. This subject is far too important and beautifully complex than declaring things to be in one box or another. Let’s gather together and evoke deep, thoughtful, and intellectual conversations about specific policies and ideas. Why do you believe what you do and can you support your ideas with fair evidence? What are your sources? How would you implement this policy or why do you think this law should be put in place for the betterment of all citizens? What are the downsides or potential risks to what you think should be enacted? What groups would this impact most? The more questions you can ask; the more you will learn. Admit ignorance when you don’t know- you aren’t expected to know and have opinions on everything. If your family or loved one has differing beliefs from you- dive into a conversation. Do you share the same values but believe in different paths to achieve these goals? Do you put more emphasis on certain policies and topics rather than others? Of course we will often agree to disagree, but we can come to a better understanding of why. We can accept our differences with love, respect, and start an open dialogue. Recognize areas where we can research, learn, and expand our knowledge. Challenge ourselves to read about all sides rather than just following the confirmation bias of our existing beliefs and chasing the echo chamber on the internet. I really believe that if we begin to open the conversation and welcome every individual’s unique perspective, we will optimize our impact as voters and become more informed. The government acts according to our collective voices, so lets unite to have discussions and gain more clarity on what we want from our government moving forward.

I am excited for our future and I have faith that we can come together and start having thoughtful conversations surrounding political topics. We can challenge others when they declare labels or stereotypes. We can challenge ourselves and those around us to make room for all ideas, beliefs, questions, and musings. Let’s empower each voice and invite each question.

Thank you for reading this, and thank you for taking on the challenge.