2018 Politics — Can America Start Listening Again?

In 2018, politics in America is totally polarized, and views are entirely contained in both conservative and liberal echo chambers without the allowance for opposing dialogue or debate. From the right, if you disagree with their opinions then you are immediately labeled a ‘snowflake’ or a ‘libtard,’ and from the left, you are immediately branded a ‘fascist’ or ‘racist’ without fail. I have slowly removed myself from the political debate because it is no longer a dialogue of opposing views trying to find common ground to make everything better as a whole, but it is a cesspool of namecalling and hatemongering in the name of that group’s views. I have asked myself on several occasions; what would it take to get people from both sides to turn off the noise of hate and anger and turn on understanding and empathy at the other side’s opinions? The answer has to be real communication and conversation that will never occur in the 140 character soundbite world of Twitter or the 15-second soundbite of the news media. But, a real discussion between both sides will only happen when they meet to talk face to face and agree to do so without the angst and anger that so often pervades today’s politics. Can America come together and really start communicating? Or, as a Nation, have we gone too far down the path of quick to anger and ready to block social media echo chambers where only our opinion…