The Left vs the Right Part 1: Debates

A Bipartisan view of why both sides can’t get along and what it’s going to take to bring America together.

The left vs right debate has been a political struggle that has gone on in this country for decades and it used to peak every four years when election season hit. But now these debates have increased in frequency and have bled into our social media, talk shows and sports programs on a daily basis. The back and forth struggle is largely a cultural one, where it seems that two distinct viewpoints on life and what makes up an ideal society are clashing on a regular basis with seemingly no end or resolution. Both sides claim that what the country needs most right now is unity, but the harsh truth is that both sides believe that ‘unity’ means that one submits to the other.

The view point in this series is largely an ‘outside looking in’ point of view on the struggle between both sides. Many viewpoints held by the public are heavily influenced by society, peers, culture/upbringing and a lack of knowledge of all the issues at hand. I have chosen not to associate with either party or viewpoint not only because I have loved ones on both sides of the argument, but because logic would lead me to believe that all issues should be approached on a case by case basis with arguments heard from both sides. The reality is that not many people are completely conservative or completely liberal (a phrase made famous by Chris Rock) if they were to remove the labels and discuss issues on a case by case basis. The social issue stances were chosen by both parties to capture votes which in turn divide the country. The reason for this is because no one person knows everything. Even the smartest person in the world will lack experience when it comes to being raised in another culture and Stephen Hawking, the smartest man of his time even once admitted that ‘women are the biggest mystery’.

“…the harsh truth is that both sides believe that ‘unity’ means that the opposing side submits to them.”

Debates

The key to progress in America has been repeated by many politicians during political campaigns but seldom has been achieved, it is bipartisanship: agreement or cooperation between two political parties that usually oppose each other's policies. So when it comes to America’s Right vs Left ‘Great Debate’, it only makes sense that in a country where freedom is regarded as our greatest gift and we celebrate that we are a working melting pot of so many different cultures, that peaceful negotiations and compromise should be a part of our way of life…but it’s not. Typically when a conservative and a liberal get into an argument they make it obvious that they’ve only been paying attention to facts, arguments, media and information that support what they already believe to be true without understanding the viewpoints of the other side. It is clear that there is no intention of finding common ground, which is unfortunately the key to progress in an argument between two different schools of thought.

“…when a conservative and a liberal get into an argument…obvious that they’ve only been paying attention to facts, arguments, media and information that support what they already believe to be true…”

Another common issue with the debates (or should I say quarrels) between the left and right is the encroachment on free speech by both sides. Liberals will resort to protesting, banning and shaming any school of thought in opposition to theirs. While this is supposed to lead to the prevention of hateful, sexist or racist speech, it has instead lead to the suppression of logical conservative ideas and caused retaliation from conservatives. As part of the conservative retaliation, conservative minority white supremacist groups have sprang up to protect the conservative culture. On the opposing side some conservatives have become so insensitive or unaware of the oppositions culture that they believe their belief system is the right way and deviations to that are viewed as un-patriotic or un-American when in fact, cultural differences and personal freedoms are what is supposed to make America the best country to live in.

As a result of the divisive rhetoric used by conservatives in response to the attempt at suppressing free speech by liberals (they can lack acceptance for conservative ideas while preaching about acceptance ironically), you are seeing more demonstrations that feature minority violent liberal groups like Antifa. The cultural struggle has come to the point where you will rarely see a fair and balanced debate between both sides and in some cases where the debate may be fair, one party may hold a wealth of information that their counterpart does not.

Next up: Part 2, Protesting

“…the harsh truth is that both sides believe that ‘unity’ means that the opposing side submits to them.”