Generalizing to Extremes

As I lay awake last night staring at the ceiling, it was clear to me that my original idea for this week’s post would have to wait.  Given the incident that occurred at yesterday’s presidential rally, I believe there is a bigger issue to address.

I’ve been worried about our trend of lumping people into categories of extremes for some time now. Social media has us huddling in corners with like-minded voters, pointing accusatory fingers at people on the other side of the political spectrum.  And the more we do this, the more we move away from the common ground in the center, assuming that other group is out to destroy our country.

Somehow, we’ve lost the ability to disagree, and more importantly, to do so in a civil way.  And if we have any hope of moving our country in a better direction, we have to address this issue.  For me, the first step in this process is guarding against making sweeping generalizations.

I feel certain in the days and weeks to come we will hear a great deal of hyperbole on both sides about what people in that other party are capable of.  But just as the thoughts and actions of one segment of a group don’t represent the thoughts and actions of the whole, neither do the extreme actions of one broken individual.

We can’t change our divisive system, but individually we can step away from the never-ending fire-feeding flame of 24-7 social media and just talk with others face-to-face.  For when we build relationships with others through discussion, we also build capacity to understand differing perspectives with less judgement and more empathy. 

I also believe that when we talk with others, we are less likely to take an us-against-them mindset of extreme thoughts and behaviors.  This doesn’t mean we will always agree, or even vote the same way – but at least it’s a first step in helping us find a hint of common ground on which to stand. And that’s a good start.