Isn’t it time that we stopped going with our “gut” and actually used critical thinking to analyze an issue and to make informed decisions about right and wrong?
Yes. I am talking about the political climate. All I felt while watching the Republican National Convention was anger, and my disappointment was reserved for the Democratic National Convention.
On one hand, you have a party that thought it was okay to bring a washed-up movie actor from some distant past and have him yell at an empty chair that is supposed to represent the president. On the other hand, you have a party that could only offer you emotionally charged stories that are more melodramatic than an everyday soap opera.
More “spin” tactics than ever were used in the media over the past two weeks. Social issues were given more importance than economic ones, as if to divert one’s attention from the unhealthy economy. The only relief was the energetic and fact-based speech given by former President Bill Clinton.
A friend recently brought to my attention how tired she was of both of these parties spinning the “women issue.” She said that she was confused and might not vote because one party wants to allow abortions in the eighth month of pregnancy, and the other wants to ban it even for rape and incest cases. These different views are as extreme as two parties can get on an issue. The same goes for most issues, be it economic or social. Two parties stand at such opposing poles that sometimes they seem disconnected from reality and everyday people.
But cynics might say, “Well, what do you expect — they are politicians, after all.” Yes, I get it. But the politicians are not sent forth by martians to take over the planet. They come from our society and their attitudes, to a certain extent, reflect the attitude of the society. So, what is the problem here? I think the problem is that we are not agreeing to disagree anymore.
An environment of extreme political beliefs promotes stereotyping — much like what we have seen over the past four years. Some of the comments made by the Republican leaders about President Obama were as vulgar as a bad joke uttered by a drunk person at a fraternity party. From calling him a “Kenyan Muslim” to accusing him of being anti-American, the Republican Party has really shown how dirty politics can be.
Even though the Democratic Party has been quite well behaved most of the time, I have seen a surge against any and all conservative ideas from the coffee shop liberals. From calling Ron Paul a fascist to naming the Tea Party activists “Teabaggers,” the liberals have spewed their share of hatred. I have been called a “Teabagger” countless times because I did see some merit in Ron Paul’s economic plan. I also have been called a “socialist” for liking some parts of Obamacare.
I do believe that there are many people like myself whose ideologies lie in the middle. They agree on some issues and disagree with others between the two parties. But as the elections grow nearer, it seems as if there is no room for discussion or common sense for that matter. One can argue that we need a third party to represent the libertarian views, but I don’t think that will solve this problem. It may elevate it.
If anything, now more than ever, we need the critical thinking skills that college is supposed to help us sharpen.
We need to realize that different problems call for different solutions, and different situations call for different actions. We need to understand one can be for war or anti-war, or for abortion or anti-abortion, depending on the situation. After all, no critical thinker would simply go with their beliefs or “gut” when it comes to situations of right or wrong. To be a critical thinker, one must challenge their own belief system and use facts to judge a situation before making a decision. Just because you classify yourself as a liberal should not mean than you would have to disapprove of everything “conservative,” and vice versa.
I urge my fellow college students to not promote stereotyping and hatred, and to not make a decision based solely on their belief system. Rather, assess a situation, gather facts and then apply critical thinking before embracing or condemning an idea or an issue.
In short, we all need ”” as my sociology professor says ”” a “crap detector.” It will help us sort out the garbage and find the real issues, the causes and effects of those issues and hopefully a solution to the problem we are dealing with. That may be the only way to stop this maddening political extremism and restore sanity in the political arena.