In the politically charged opinion piece by Arthur C. Brooks, the lines that called out to me were about the distaste that people from opposite parties had for each other. Brooks writes that “[W]e also don’t like one another very much. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats have a “very unfavorable” view of Republicans, and 43 percent of Republicans hold that view of Democrats. About half of “consistently liberal” Americans say most of their friends share their views, and about a third say it’s important to live in a place where that is so. For those who are “consistently conservative,” these preferences are even more pronounced” (Brooks para 5). Originally upon reading this, his words surprised me and I doubted the validity of the statement. However, upon looking at my own life, I realized that the people I associate with and, on a wider scale, those that my parents associate with, all have the same political bumper stickers on their cars or signs in their front yards this election season. This confirmed and made me see the possibility of this in the rest of the country, that when it comes to politics birds of a feather (generally) flock together. It occurred to me that this “flocking together” is the easy route, realizing that it is easy to go to dinner and talk about politics when everyone can generally agree without getting heated. Of course it would be nice if people from opposing parties didn’t have to discuss politics in a way that is “more contemptuous than angry, overflowing with sneering, mockery and disgust (Brooks para 9)”, but in today’s world that is how politics are not only talked about over the dinner table, but in televised debates between opposing party candidates. Since living together is the easy route, the hard route would be, in my opinion, trying to persuade those who did not share your views in an educated, calm, neighborly manor instead of the fervent anger or feeling of the others stupidity that is seen and felt in most debates. It is easier to get mad and understandably so when it comes to something you are passionate about but most people do not respond to anger and the feeling of being looked down upon so it seems that it would be much better to try and convince someone by presenting yourself as on the same level as the person you are trying to convince. This is rarely seen even among educated adults, who as these statistics show, can hardly bear to live near people of the opposing political party. This raises the question of why people can hardly ever seem to peacefully discuss politics? If you were a real estate agent trying to persuade your clients to buy a house, you would not start by screaming at them about how horrible, disgusting and stupid their current house was and then in a pompous manner describe how this new house was all the better. So why do educated and involved adults take that approach when talking to their friends and colleagues about politics?
Brooks, Arthur C. “Bipartisanship Isn’t for Wimps, After All.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.