The ABCs of political polarization

Talk to each other, people!

Oh, you're a gun person? You must not care about school shootings. Oh, you want gun control? You must want to take everyone's guns and you don't care about the Second Amendment. You voted for Trump? You must be a bigot. You don't support Trump? You must be a liberal snowflake.

Wait, what??

Instead of making these assumptions about each other, we need to talk to each other, and more importantly, LISTEN to each other. We must reclaim the lost art of conversation and civil discourse, even if we disagree. It is possible to disagree in a civil, healthy way.

Look at the diagram below. A and D represent extreme opinions on the political left and right. B and C represent moderate positions. The x is right in the middle, dividing the left and right. Often, B will refuse to talk to C because B thinks C and D think the same. Conversely, C doesn't want to talk to B because C thinks A and B are the same. However, even though A and B are on the same political "side," they don't think the same way. Same for C and D - same side, but different opinions.

|--A----B---x---C----D--|

Here's an example: C and D are conservative on the issue of immigration. But C and D don't automatically agree just because they're conservative. D thinks we should build a wall and deport people immediately. C just thinks that we need to firm up our immigration policy so it's more consistent. The situation is similar for A and B. A wants open borders and amnesty for all. B doesn't want that - they just want to protect the Dreamers. Same side, different opinions.

Here's the problem: B sees that C and D are on the same side, so B doesn't want to talk to either of them. And C refuses to talk to B because C thinks that B is like A. So dialogue stops because of assumptions, judgments, and stereotypes.

And here's how it becomes dangerous: If B doesn't talk to C or D, who's left for B to talk to? Only A and those farther to the left. And if C refuses to talk to B, the only way he can go is farther to the right, toward D and beyond. This is how polarization happens and how people begin to buy into extreme ideas. When dialogue stops, the only voices that are left are the extreme ones.

B and C might not be able to convince each other to come to the other side, but they can at least prevent their counterparts from becoming more extreme. Make it your goal to converse, not just convince. Seek first to understand, then be understood. We can always learn something from each other.

Now, I'm not talking about putting yourself in a dangerous situation. But outside of those situations, we must keep the dialogue going. Talk to people on "the other side." Explore social media and news sources from "the other side." Find common ground, listen, and learn from each other.

Talk to each other, people!

Chris Kubic, ziontogether@gmail.com, of Zion, is a community leader, deputy voter registrar, and high school Social Studies teacher in Lake County.