On election day, don’t forget to breathe and put politics in the appropriate context. I can promise you that laying on your deathbed, you won’t be thinking about who you voted for in 2024. But if you lose a lifelong friendship or relationship with a family member—that could haunt you for years.
Anyone who really knows me, knows I have extremely strong views on public policy and political philosophies. I am a bit of a geek in this area. I am definitely not an academic, but I read white papers, books, and news (from a ton of sources) on historical and current applications to various public policies every week of my life.
I only point this out to say I have opinions—well informed and very passionate perspectives on a wide range of public policies. I am NOT saying that people shouldn’t care about these issues. And I am NOT saying people shouldn’t engage in issues they care about. I just want everyone to put those passions in proper context.
15 years ago, I didn’t think this way. Politics had become life for me. I genuinely believed the outcomes of elections and changes to public policies were the most important things I could effect. I, like far more people than ever, started to view politics through a simple good vs bad paradigm. And I, like millions of others, started viewing the “other side” more like enemies than people with differences of opinion.
IMO, those feelings are more prevalent in society than at any point in my life. I regularly see posts from friends on social media condemning people with opposing views as “evil” or “demonic”—using those exact words or very close equivalents.
Far too many people are viewing whole groups in terms of good vs evil, and once you view the world in this way, it’s easy to condemn and dehumanize anyone. And if you can dehumanize someone, you can advocate for anything because you have removed their humanity. This is an extremely slippery slope.
Reducing a person to nothing more than a random group to which they are a part (such as a political party or supporter of a certain candidate) means that essentially any group identity can be used to throw the rights of an individual out the door when the wrong people have power (and they too often do). A person is no longer defined by their own decisions and actions—they are reduced to the worst possible perception of a group to which they belong.
Every person is far more than any single group to which they belong. The actions, decisions, personal philosophy, and intent that make up a person should never be discarded simply because of the political party they support.
Very few people are truly evil. Evil requires nefarious intent. Most people’s beliefs come from a good place. They want good outcomes for very good reasons. And yes, its true that from good intentions can come terrible harm. But that doesn’t mean that the person is evil because they have a different perspective.
Once we have defined a person as evil, there is almost no room for civility or discourse of any kind, and that’s the problem. We can too easily dismiss a lifetime of good in a friend or family member just because they see public policy in a different way.
We all have different views on all kinds of different issues. There will never be a moment when every person agrees with every other person on every issue. So when we choose to condemn alternative perspectives as evil and fight them accordingly, and all sides of every issue do the same to everyone else—what is left of society?
This all or nothing view of politics pushes society into an unending contest of might will make right, and whoever possesses the greatest power at any moment has a moral obligation (from their perspective) to impose their will on everyone else. This is tyranny in its purest form.
Humans aren’t perfect. We are flawed in countless ways. Recognizing these imperfections is humility. Understanding that everyone shares those imperfections, then seeking to better understand their perspective and their intent is empathy.
At the end of day, I value hanging with friends and family on my back patio, trips with those people to new places, watching our kids grow up together. I value honesty, trust, respect, and people who I can count on if my car breaks down—and who know they can count on me when they need something. Our little shared connections, experiences, and memories are what makes life so incredibly precious—not a random political belief.
Politics matter. Public policy matters. But none of it matters more than the connections that make life worth living.
Every day of my life, I am reminded that I share far more in common with the average person in my community than not. The fringes of politics get most of the attention, but they are not representative of the average person. Most people don’t live their life in those fringes. Most people are pretty freaking down to earth.
We can all do better, and we can all contribute to improved discourse in America by not putting politics above every other part of life. None of us are perfect. Lets all take a quick drink of humility, and remember today that every person is more than a random vote.