Us Versus Them

I've been known to express my disgust for the world from time to time as some of you know and scorn the ways of man at times. Man is definitely dually capable of great benevolence and cooperation and great malevolence and conflict as well. .

As a Political Science major I'm very interested in the manner in which politics are conducted, and its no secret that so called polite discussion, often turns into the old Us Versus Them throw down. All the obscenities flying around, and mindless bickering it seems a terrible plight for such an enlightened species. Yet, such seems to be the way of things in the world of politics and the larger society and civilization as a whole.. This attitude ruins what are supposed to be civil debates and often ruins countries.. It results from stubbornness, egocentrism and being unable to accept that at times we are wrong. I believe this mentality is what is truly wrong with our civilization. Afterall, one of the most basic aspects a civilization requires to survive is the ability to cooperate, to come together and find the middle ground,and reach a compromise between the two extremes.

Yet, in todays world we remain polarized; allowing our opposing views to repel each other as with magnetism, instead of recognizing our commonalities and our achievements and uniting as one. The greatest achievements of mankind have been achieved through great cooperation and collective efforts of many. How could man have made it to the moon, in little more than a tin can, if we were arguing the whole time? It doesnt surprise me that in the world of politics little legislation have been passed to address many of the major problems in our country. We live in a polarized world where we are confronted by two looming extremes, standing in the middle and are forced to choose sides, as if life were one insane game of dodgeball, where you will be whaled in the head by a giant rubber playground ball for not subscribing to a specific set of beliefs.

However, reality isn't so simple. No one is purely Liberal or Conservative. We are all hybrids to some varying degree. It is absurd to assume that just because one subscribes to a differing viewpoint they are an enemy. If we ever want to survive as a nation, as a people, as a species, we are going to be forced to cooperate or else face almost certain destruction. There are too many nuclear weapons in existence and in the works to remain constantly in conflict with each other so frequently. The path of division almost certainly leads to annihilation.

Luckily, such a bleak outlook is avoidable if we can cooperate. Historically, great things have happened when people come together and unite. We need only think of the founding of this nation to realize the truth in this fact. Of course, the world can get complicated, but complication does not mean impossibility. This does not mean we cannot maintain civility, unity and respect despite differences of opinion. We must all remember the simple fact that we're all in the same boat, and must cooperate if we ever hope to progress to any substantial degree and reach a state of true peace and prosperity.