Are you being heard?

America is as polarized as ever. Either you hate Trump and his administration, or you support their decisions. The gray area where people could support their party and still disagree with some of its decisions is fading away. We are moving closer to the collapse of America.

It doesn’t matter which party you align with. It’s clear that at this point we have forgotten why our government and its parties exists: to ensure each citizen can prosper. Through discourse, we can expose the faults in each other’s logic leading to better policies that improve our quality of life. Yet, neither side can admit to their faults. Instead, politics has become a middle school classroom.

Teachers, experts in their subjects, are presenting the facts with an intent to inform not persuade. Yet, in order to reach their students, the general public, they must find a way to make the information more palatable. In this way, the facts lose their intent. We have comedians, that never intended or assumed to be experts, now passing on the information we should receive from experts. For them to inform they must insult, and the students latch on to the insult instead of the information. Turning the classroom into battleground of opinionated character insults with the “word of the day” being thrown around with little regard to its actual meaning or relatability to the discussion.

So how do we change the conversation from “You’re stupid” to “You’re wrong”? We first need to address the misconceptions that might equals right. The incessant, boisterous rantings of a mob don’t persuade others to join their cause. They acquiesce for the moment but remain vigilant for their vindication. If the harm sustained from those coerced into following the mob is great, they will become vindictive once the facts surface. This will cause a new mob, that will eventually lose sight of seeking justice and instead seek to punish.

At this point, we need those skilled in resolving conflict to emerge. Experts in compromise and reconciliation that realize that the competition is not between Democrats and Republicans but between prosperity and despair. We, not only as Americans, but as humans desiring a better life; A life of autonomy, happiness, and prosperity, must fight against the allure of winning if winning is just symbolic.

So I ask, do you want to thrive or do you just want to be heard?