Believe it or not, the 2016 presidential campaign in the U.S. has already begun. Several candidates have already officially announced that they are running, and a number of others are expected to do so in the next few weeks.
Aside from the incredible amount of time and money and other resources that are being spent currently on a far-off election that could be used in a more meaningful and socially helpful way, there is at least one other negative part of the election process these days. I’m speaking of the failure to listen and respect others’ points of view.
There has been a greater polarization among people these days. While it is noticeable in conflicts throughout the world, in America it means that there are fewer undecided voters If a voter as made up his/her mind at the start of a campaign, there is no incentive to listen to the various points of view. In fact, there is an incentive to listen to campaign rhetoric in a biased way with an ear toward uncritically accepting what one’s favorite candidate has to say while automatically discounting the words of others.
In many ways, what happens during election campaigns mirrors what happens in other aspects of our lives. Too many of us tend to confuse opinions with facts – and then become critical of others whose opinions differ from ours on matters as trivial as whether a new hairstyle or dress looks good on the other person or as important as foreign or domestic policies.
In the U.S., the electorate tends to be split approximately 50/50 between the more conservative Republican party and the more liberal Democratic party. I have known people who consider members of the other party as being either stupid or evil, and this actually affects their choice of friendships. To think in those terms means that half the population is either stupid or evil. What is the likelihood of that being true?
The same is true with repeat to other choices that people make. Decisions such as whether to keep working or retire, whether to rent or buy, whether to attend college or trade school, and whether buy a particular article of clothing are all individual decisions that people make based upon the best information available to them. If you have something relevant to add that can help someone make an important decision, you owe it to them to do so.
But please, first listen to what they have to say, and then accept the fact that the decision they make may be different than you are advising – and that doesn’t make them wrong.