The Silent Centrist

Today's political landscape can seem an inescapable pit of polarization. Like many people, I have become exhausted with the hateful or inflammatory rhetoric used by most politicians. It seems as though any good person can't make it in politics and as such, there aren't any left. This can be depressing, as the problems our country faces don't stop just because political parties can't agree on a solution. This leads to a political gridlock where parties think no solution is better than a solution given by the other party.

Now I know that polarization is an issue that can quickly snowball into bigger problems. It can make people more likely to use personal insults and attacks over productive speech. It lessens the ability to see common ground and reach compromises. But polarization doesn't have to be bad. Polarization is, in some ways, a form of diversity. Stark as the contrast might be between two sets of ideas, polarization is just that - two sets of ideas. I strongly believe that a diverse set of ideas is what makes this country strong, and that we need to stop demonizing those who hold political beliefs different from our own.

That is what brings us to what I believe is the true issue that our country faces today. It doesn't take a political scientist to see the problems that polarization has caused. But I believe that the way to end the negative effects of polarization isn't to try and silence other views, but rather elevate the voice of the voiceless. By diversifying the voices we hear, the power the polar opposites hold on our attention diminishes, and with it we can see that there are many more things that unite us than divide us.

That is my dream with the Silent Centrist. I may not have the influence or the pervasiveness of others, but what I do have is my voice. And, even if only for my own sanity, I will raise it against the powers that divide us. I will remain silent no longer, but rather use my voice to unify in whatever small way I can.

We can go farther, together.
Let's go forward, together.

Sometimes it feels like no matter where you look the world is falling apart. It can be pretty depressing when, no matter where you turn, there’s always something that just seems to drain you a little bit until there’s nothing left. This past week news covered a story about a vigilante who murdered a powerful man in cold blood, presumably because he had strong disagreements with the way he ran his business. The internet responded as the internet does – somehow making a bad situation feel worse. Not only was the crime committed heinous, but the supposed “cause” that vigilante supported only brings up topics that the only thing everyone can agree on is that it sucks.

Now I’m not here to talk about that event, but rather the mood that has been set slowly over the past several decades. The mood of discontent and desperation. I believe that actions taken in anger or out of spite and revenge rarely provide solutions that benefit the causes we all share.

I think that when most people see injustice, they get upset. That’s a normal reaction. There is something profoundly human about fairness that is engrained in even the youngest. Something inside that helps us know when something isn’t right. But it is often in our quest to right that wrong that we can lose sight of your own priorities.

I heard a story a long time ago, and I’m sure that if it wasn’t a true story, that it is entirely plausible. There was a group of three friends hiking along a rocky path in the mountains. Little known to them, lurking in the brush not too far ahead was a snake. As the first friend walked by, the sound of footsteps startled the snake. As the second friend walked by, the snake was poised to strike. By the time the third friend reached the place where the snake was hiding, it sprung out and bit the hiker on the ankle.

The hiker screamed from the pain of the bite and instinctively shook his foot to get it off. His friends heard his scream and rushed to help, quickly realizing what had happened. Angry, the hiker wanted to get that snake for biting him, and his friends, empathetic to his pain, began looking for the snake. Searching and searching, they eventually found the snake and smashed it with a large rock.

Now, after a long while searching, they returned to their friend to see his situation worsening. Looking ill, they did their best to carry him back to the trailhead to get signal to call for emergency assistance. Unfortunately for that hiker, he died in the ambulance ride to the hospital before receiving the appropriate medical care that could have saved his life.

Now I know there is a lot to consider in a real-life situation, but the moral of this story is simple. Just because you have been hurt or offended, that gut reaction of anger will more often lead to more suffering than keeping your focus on what is truly important. How often do we hear stories that upset us and immediately get upset ourselves? Does that reaction truly help? Is that reaction really a distraction from what is matters most? Now I know that it can be difficult not to react to some things.

But the best things in life are rarely easy.

Instead of going out to find the snake to smash it, instead think of something nice to say. Or like that comment that shared a kind thought you didn’t think about. Make it a point to spread kindness rather than hate and you will find that what you get in return will be kinder as well. Because the more you give love to the world, the less hate that others will feel. And even if that small act of kindness isn’t the shining light that makes someone’s day, at the very least you’ve taken some of that negativity away and replaced it with something positive.

So, the next time you feel upset by something you’ve seen on the news, or read in an article, or watched in a video, give yourself a second to think before you say anything. Remember what is essential in life and what brings you happiness. And remember, happiness seldom comes from the circumstances in which you find yourself, but rather the focus that you give your own life.

So, the next time you feel the urge to react with anger, take a breath. Remember what truly matters. Choose kindness.

Over the past several years I have found myself becoming more disillusioned with the state of American politics. It feels as though there has been a steady decline in civility and pragmatism over the course of my lifetime, two things that I believe are essential for a functional government. And the problems that we face seem to be never ending. Climate change, income inequality, healthcare, education, the national debt – it seems as though impending doom is lingering on the horizon and both sides are bickering about what some random person said online and how it is destroying America.

But in my own life this holiday season I have tried to foster a spirit of gratitude. It can be easy to get accustomed to the many good things in your life, only to be left focused on the bad things. The longer you stare and dwell on them, the larger they seem, no matter how insignificant they actually are. So in an effort to focus on the good rather than the bad, I would like to express gratitude for all the wonderful and imperfect things in our American Democracy.

I am grateful to participate in free and fair elections. As part of a declining minority [1] of people who live in a country with free and fair elections, few can still say they can truly participate in their governments. My vote can make a difference, a right many before me shed their blood to earn so that I wouldn’t have to. I can raise my voice in support or opposition freely, without fear of legal or physical danger. I can contact my representatives at all levels to persuade them in my favor. I can petition for the free release of a wide range of information.

I am grateful for a safe and secure home. That a police force exists to maintain order and a legal system that I can utilize to fight injustice. I am free to go about my business without being disturbed by others. Laws that protect me as an employee, consumer, and human. There is an emergency line operating all the time to answer in case I have an emergency. There is a hospital that will care for me.

I am grateful for the free expression and sharing of information. I have access to more information than most humans in history could even dream of. There are libraries and schools where I can attend to learn and better myself. I am capable of improving my own situation.

I am grateful for access to nature, and the marvelous sights and sounds you can find all around. I am free to move about as I please across most places. That we protect and preserve places that are of interest and beauty for all to enjoy. I can visit those who wish to have my company.

Now I don’t claim that any of those things are perfect. There are still those here in this country that feel intimidated to vote. There are those who use their position to drown out the voices of others. Bad police officers that abuse their power to harm others out of prejudice, and hospitals that place unjust burdens of debt. There are those that wish to censor books and restrict the teaching of facts in schools. There are those who wish to exploit the natural resources of this country for their own gain.

There is plenty of room for improvement.

But that is a truth as old as humanity itself. No country or government has even been perfect because humans aren’t perfect. But if there is anything that I can say about this country is that we are resilient. We recognize our faults and work to fix them, even if it is a slow process. So, before we are quick to judge one another, and agonize in the face of the many problems placed before us, I ask that we also be quick to remember just how far we have come and just how blessed we are.

Be humble and remember that we all share this country together. Different priorities and different ideas on how to fix the problems can be debated, but the debate should not detract from the wonders that we have accomplished together. Together we built this country. Together we are this country. Together, we will overcome every problem.

Division in America is caused by plenty of things, but today I would like to focus on just one – social media. There are many platforms, each filling a certain niche, where people can engage in discourse with others online: Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, the Platform formerly known as Twitter, and more. I would say that a good number of people now get a large amount of the information that they consume on a daily basis from their social media. While most of that information they consume isn’t politically motivated, such as family photos, funny memes, sports videos, etc., there is a good portion of people that see political content on their social media accounts.

Not everyone looks for political content online, nor does everyone believe what they see online. I trust that the majority of people are able to filter out the true nonsense that sometimes gets put out online. However, I believe that the non-social nature of social media has had a direct, negative impact on the political division on a global scale.

As technology advances, so does the ability to produce deceitful content. Deep fake videos, doctored photos, edited clips, or simply untruthful articles get published daily. Sometimes this fake content is produced in an effort to make a laugh or draw attention to an issue. Sometimes it is produced in order to drive traffic to a website as “clickbait.” In some cases, it is intentionally designed to deceive the consumer into believing their narrative. No matter what the intent was, it doesn’t add any more truth to the content. Without truth, this fake content is simply lying to the public. And while most people know you shouldn’t believe everything you read online, plenty of people also think there will be at least some truth in the content published, which isn’t always true.

Aside from being flooded with fake content, the internet is also full of bots. Many social media platforms depend on user input for what stories get promoted or hidden from your feed. Automated bot accounts can be programmed to like, comment, or promote content in order to boost its views and sometimes its monetization. It is no secret that foreign governments have been found operating on social media in order to influence American political opinions.[1] Identifying human accounts vs bot accounts can be difficult, and often impossible for the average user. All of this results in a shift of what you see on your social media.

Even accounts that are run and operated by humans can often have malicious intentions. The anonymity of many social media accounts makes it easy for humans to hide in plain sight. A quick Google search shows us that even nice people can become rude and hurtful online when hidden behind an anonymous account. While this topic can get complex, one fundamental part of why people are ruder online than in person is because of lack of social inhibitions.

Plus, online people tend to vent their own grievances vicariously through other’s experiences. This often leads to exaggerating problems and speaking in hyperbole. The internet has an effect on people that everyone’s problems become your problem. The other day I saw a TikTok of an older woman complaining about a 14-year-olds failed invitation to a school dance and that school’s subsequent reaction. You could feel her anger and she talked about her perception of an injustice that was going on. Needless to say I had a gut reaction before I calmed down and thought “who cares and why am I seeing an old woman complain about a freshman’s love life?”

That’s not to say you shouldn’t fight for justice where you see injustice. I would say fairness is one of the most fundamental principles that I try to live by and that shapes my political opinions. When you have the ability to make a difference, I believe you should try to make that difference to make the world a better place. However, just because you have the ability to give your opinion doesn’t mean that it actually helps. I would go as far to say that sometimes giving your opinion can sometimes be more detrimental than helpful, particularly if you use hateful and inflammatory speech.

That’s why I believe everyone must do their best to be integral in all their interactions with others. The world we live in we cannot escape the necessity of the internet, so we must learn to live in this world with this power at our fingertips. But we must be honest with our intentions and respectful of others. Diverse opinions are valuable to approach the problem from multiple points of view, but many forget that just because you thought outside the box doesn’t mean the conventional thinking was completely wrong.

That’s not to say good online content doesn’t exist. While all of these factors pose serious problems, that doesn’t make each one of them inherently bad. Generated images can present information in a clear way where no live images exist. Bots can be automated to remove spam and harmful content rather than promote it. Anonymity can help vulnerable people voice their opinions or expand their audience to people who might otherwise preemptively judge their content based on their own bias. It can be beneficial to discuss the nuanced situation of others to debate what a fair outcome might be, even if we have no stake in the situation itself.

So, if all of these things that are bad in social media can actually be good, how can we tell what to look for? Well first, avoid confrontational content. If the creator is just venting anger or berating opposing opinions, it isn’t worth your time. If the creator is using “gotcha” tactics to catch people, particularly your average person, it probably won’t be worth your time either. Good content will make you think about your own opinions, not simply attack you for them. Look for content that informs, but also reports errors. Look for transparency and respect.

The more you thoughtfully consider all the media you consume online, and the more you socialize your ideas in a productive way, the less contention and division will cause problems in your own life.

Political opinions exist in a wide variety. Regardless of where you stand or how involved you are, everyone has opinions on how we interact with each other. I would argue that those who believe they don’t have political opinions are just expressing some different, underlying opinion; usually that we shouldn’t care so much about our differing opinions and that in the end it’s only the things that affect us personally (the ones that get us engaged) that are truly important. Personally, I enjoy listening to how others view and interact with the world around them and find that I see my own opinions reflected in parts of theirs.

People tend to self-segregate as life goes on. As we find friends that share our common interests, little by little the gravity of the relationship pulls their ideas closer together. To a mild extent, you simply have a group that shares that common interest and can enjoy each other’s company. However, in an extreme, you can create echo chambers where the longer you hear the same idea, the more you solidify your belief in that idea and close yourself off to new ones.

I felt this firsthand when talking with my brother-in-law several years ago. In our discussion we arrived at the topic of recycling. It shook me as I heard him say that recycling was bad. Being environmentally conscious is one of my most deeply held beliefs, so to hear that from someone who I consider one of the most intelligent people that I know was shocking. As we discussed more, he mentioned how campaigns to encourage recycling actually end up producing larger amounts of garbage. Assuming they’re being recycled, people buy more plastic products. But, due to the misinformed promise that plastics would be recycled, the reality of the costs of recycling end up meaning that most plastics are simply thrown away.

I saw this not to discuss the practicality of recycling, but as an example of why we should reflect upon our own opinions. The connection between my deeply held belief and this outward practice had become strong that my ignorance blinded me to the real reason why I held that belief in the first place. If my desire was to protect our planet from pollution, then perhaps the idea of recycling and the current practice of recycling weren’t one and the same.

Too many times do we come across someone who thinks differently only to immediately dismiss their ideas that feel in contrast to our own. Our beliefs become so much a part of our own identity that we are quicker to defend than to learn. Learning should be a daily practice for all of us. It might not be in a formal, school setting. It might not be “traditional” topics like math or art. But rather we should learn how to be better versions of ourselves and how to help others. If learning is your goal, then questions are your friend. The more questions you ask, the more information you gain. The harder questions you ask, the deeper the information you learn.

This practice of learning won’t only refine your ideas but can strengthen bonds and diminish anger and hate. The more you learn about someone and why they are the way they are only connects you more. To do this successfully requires effective communication and effective listening. I think most people understand the importance of good communication skills and the role they play in spreading knowledge. What I believe many of us forget is learning good listening skills and the role it plays in the transfer of information. While it can be very difficult to improve your communication skills, I believe that listening skills are much easier to develop.

How often do we experience life trying to react rather than to understand? To truly listen, you cannot be thinking about your response while someone is sharing. I frequently fall into this trap; I’m trying to come up with a clever comeback or snark response rather than trying to understand the fundamental belief behind their opinion. The simple fix to this is to stop thinking and ask more questions to gather more information. If while talking feels like more like arguing, or you feel a strong, defensive response, that should cause you to ask more questions, not fight their ideas.

Listening also requires patience. As I implied before, effectively communicating your ideas is difficult. Few people are eloquent and wise enough to express their true beliefs in brief, easy-to-understand language. In part, because most people don’t think about their beliefs or express them frequently. They simply don’t have the practice. Many don’t have strong opinions about all topics either, so loosely held ideas might not be harder to communicate than fundamental ones. As you listen, you shouldn’t assume your personal interpretation of their words was their intention. To avoid miscommunication, you should ask more questions and gather more information.

Now I believe that the more we do this, particularly with those who hold different views, you will begin to break down barriers that lead to contention. As you understand each other more, you are more willing to work together. The more you work together, the more effective your solutions become. The more effective your solutions become, the better you move your community forward.

We must break free from our echo chambers and embrace empathy. By challenging our own biases and actively seeking understanding, we can bridge divides and foster a more compassionate society. Let us strive to be better listeners and more thoughtful communicators. Together, we can create a world where dialogue replaces division and understanding triumphs over ignorance.

Have you ever woken up with a film over your eye that can make it hard to see? Typically, you just blink or rub your eyes to remove it and everything is fine, but my point is that it would be miserable to go the entire day if you couldn’t clean out your eyes. Your vision of everything would be distorted and blurred. It would make everything more difficult and possibly even dangerous if you did it with your eyes covered in that film.

The way many of us, including me, have come to view life through this political film. Our political views form over time, shaped by the way we view and interact with the world around us. This is normal. But life doesn’t just happen in a vacuum. Every one of us is living our lives simultaneously, shaping the world around us, consciously or not. But one part of the American ethos that I have come to resent how much of a hold is has over my own life is the spirit of competition. The idea that life is a zero-sum game, or in other words that someone’s win must mean an equal loss to someone else, is like the dirt in your eye before your body creates a film of political distortion to remove it.

As a fan of most sports, I can understand the appeal of a healthy competition. Getting together with family or friends and watching your team can create a community that is worth being a part of. But I think many people also know the bad side of competitive sports – throwing things on the field after a bad call, harassing fans of the other team, or even threats towards players after they lost. But as many sports fans forget they should be fan of the sport first and their team second, so do American’s also forget they should be supporters of America first and their political views second.

Too many times do we react to events based on our perceived political views. We revel as our political “team” notches up “wins” by winning elections, passing favorable legislation, or sticking it to the other side with a gotcha comment or video. When our “team” loses our disappointment drags us into despair, serving only as motivation on how we can “win” next time. But if you ask me, we all lose every time we fail to come together to work to solve our biggest problems.

This competitive, us versus them mentality only leads us to see politically motivated fights where they shouldn’t exist. Rather than giving the other side the benefit of the doubt, we immediately jump to conclusions. What makes things worse is that it blinds us to any real problem that might arise. When you cry wolf at every little action the other side takes as a terrible thing, suddenly no one reacts to the true terrible thing that happens.

These problems only get worse as time goes on. The more intense the political fighting gets the more we see political fights where they shouldn’t exist. The further we dig into our political teams, the harder it is to want to reach out to the other side. The more we entrench ourselves in this political battle, the more we begin to resent opposing views and hate those who support them. In my opinion, this is the worst consequence of caused by the distortion of reality by our political lenses.

The more we fight, the more we hate.

Now I don’t have all the answers on how to fix the problems in this country, nor do I think that any one person can solve all of our problems. The only way we solve our problems is if we work together to solve them. There are plenty of things we can do to help alleviate these issues in our own lives. As we do it in our own lives, little by little it spreads to others as our positive impact affects theirs. You can think about what you say and share, particularly online, and whether your statement divides or unifies. You can listen to understand not what differences you have with another, but how much you have in common with their beliefs. You can help and assist those who go against you.

I cannot change the world, but I can change mine. That may not have much impact on everyone, but it will have an impact on me and those around me. I invite you to do the same, and just maybe, together, we will make the world a better place. As you do, you may just find fewer things to hate, and more things to love.

With what many are portraying as the most important election of our lifetime coming to an end today, I think it is important to remember just how fundamental the right to vote is to the democratic process. Democracy can only exist when the people are those who have a say in what the government does, so I would go as far to say the right to vote is the most important right we hold as American citizens.

Now there are a lot of topics to cover in voting, such as the history (and current) fight for expanding voting rights to disadvantaged populations, voter suppression, mail-in voting, election security, and many others. But the topic that I want to cover is, in my opinion, even more basic. I would like to discuss the trust in the democratic process that the elections held in the United States of America are among the most free and fair elections in the history of the world.

There have been many attacks on the election system in recent years, most notably stemming from Donald Trump. Many myths about wide-spread voter fraud and election stealing have been going on since he lost the Presidential race in 2020. Sixty-two (62) court cases were filed across several states in response to supposed fraud, with all cases eventually being dismissed due to lack of evidence/standing or finding no evidence of fraud.[1]

But as a self-declared advocate for fairness, I sympathize with those who truly believe the election was stolen. I, too, would be enraged if I believed that my preferred candidate lost because the winner cheated the system. That is why I agree that the issue should be raised. That is why we have a judicial system, for making sure that everyone is playing by the same rules and that they are followed. The courts are a place where fact, not opinion, rule. Those making the claim of fraud can then present their evidence and an impartial ruling can be made based on those facts.

And that is exactly what happened. In the majority of cases were dismissed before going to trial because evidence of fraud could not be found. In the remaining cases where a trial was held and the evidence presented was looked at, none provided evidence that showed that fraud was committed. That is the strength of the American democracy.

The system worked.

It is a testament of how robust our democracy is in how easy it is to voice your opinion and be given your fair shake at presenting evidence. It is my hope that we, as citizens, remember that fact and work towards doing everything we can to keep it that way. Democracy is something we must constantly work to maintain, not something that happens just because we wish it. We are the protectors of our own democracy. We must carefully choose our leaders who ensure that fair, impartial courts remain fair and impartial.

But as we look towards the future, I believe we will become stronger. As a result of the distrust in the 2020 election, changes implemented have only strengthened our system. I have no reason to doubt that 2024 will likely be the safest and fairest election in US history, and that whatever remote and isolated cases of true fraud occur, that they will be found, prosecuted, and have no effect on the outcome of the will of the people. It is my hope that no matter what the outcome of the election, everyone will remember that we are in this together, and that we all need to work towards unity.