Editorial
Four words conjure up anxiety like no other: we need to talk.
And why wouldn’t they?
The worst conversations tend to begin with those words, and the sight of them sends the bravest of us into a panic. But sometimes they’re necessary.
America, we need to talk.
We’ve all seen it happen. A debate escalates too fast, and a friend who commits the unspeakable sin of having a different opinion is shunned.
This might have happened to you, and you might have even done it.
Believe me, I get it.
Certain opinions make my blood boil, and I’ve found myself wanting to scream at opponents in debates before. But it hurts us as a nation to shut each other out.
It’s no secret that we don’t talk anymore. The sense of neighborly love we once had is gone. We stay in our own echo chambers, get our own news, and form our own opinions based on our preconceived notions of the facts. What we have as a result is a misinformed and uneducated populace.
When we write off any conflicting view entirely and only associate with those who agree with us, ignorance wins. The issues in our current climate come from a lack of knowledge of the issues. It’s our duty as Americans to know what’s going on and make ourselves heard. I think we can all agree we haven’t done too well with that lately.
How do we fix this climate of misinformation and hatred? We can talk to each other.
There are many conversations we need to be having, and we can’t have them in our echo chambers.
Engage in debate. Teach others. Make yourself heard.
Conversation is the key to real change, and a way to make the issues near and dear to you known.
Let’s fix this toxic culture of intolerance and have a talk.