In this time, when the politics of the United States seems more complicated, confusing, and polarized than usual, being politically and socially literate is becoming ever more important. So important, that to be ignorant of issues, or at least too ignorant to know how to learn about and examine issues, might as well be considered a crime against one’s fellow citizens, family, friends, and, especially, oneself. The United States government, regardless of whether or not that feels believable currently, is given power by its citizens. Citizens can’t fight issues that reek of injustice when they don’t even understand or know about those issues to begin with, which allows governments, companies, and other organizations to do whatever they feel like without worrying about the consequences. And since it is much easier for injustice to miss someone’s radar if they’re not affected by said injustice or its intricacies, it is even more important to proactively educate oneself on a variety of issues.
Also, being politically and socially adept helps one to argue their values and opinions comfortably. Without that adeptness, one can very easily lose confidence in their ideas and switch sides. This isn’t a bad thing in itself, but it becomes an issue when someone switches their opinions frequently due to their lack of understanding or confidence when it comes to their views. The real icing on the cake, though, is that knowing how to discuss and argue without sounding stupid is a fairly good skill to have in general.
Learn how the government or any system being discussed works as well as its history
To understand how issues or the actions of an individual or body will affect the future, an understanding of the systems at play and their histories is important. For example, some think the N-word is just a word, but most agree to the shunning of that word due to its history of racism in the United States. Another example is the misunderstanding of how far the president’s power will go. The president often has far less of an effect on an individual’s life than that individual’s local political officials (mayor, governor). With this knowledge and understanding, people would be more likely to focus on local elections and politics for the more prominent issues of their states, counties, and/or cities. It’s a basic understanding of any system(e.g. societies, families, and governments) and their histories that will help one to effectively identify the issues when they come up.
There are many ways to increase your knowledge. Pay attention more in your history, government, sociology classes and social sciences in general. Read books on the government such as “Votes of Confidence: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections” by Jeff Fleischer, or watch the Crash Course Series on Government and Politics or History. The goal isn’t to sound like a Rhode Scholar or Political Science major—although cheers to those that do—but to be knowledgeable enough that political and moral conversations that arise are more productive.
Expand your perspective!
The world is full of tons of people and, therefore, tons of ways to look at an issue. How can one decide their own stance on an issue without having an understanding of the other stances that exist? Choosing a stance means that one disagrees with other stances and agrees the most with their current stance. It’s the polite acknowledgment of other sides that also keeps any conversation civil rather than an all out brawl.
Every psychology class has gone over this: Confirmation bias. It’s a psychological concept that states that individuals have an inclination to look for information that supports their views, but undervalue information that conflicts their views. With this in mind, it means that people are more likely to disregard the other side because they disregard the information, not the argument set before them. One can’t assume that they’ve truly gone through life thinking about the other side as much as they should.
What should one do to avoid confirmation bias? Keep resources that have different perspectives on issues. It’s become pretty easy to understand which media outlets are liberal, conservative, extreme, etc., so choose news on both the conservative and liberal sides of the spectrum. Also, find friends or acquaintances that already seem to be on an opposing side of an argument and ask them why they hold that stance.
Be open-minded
One should go into discussions aware of the possibility that they could be wrong. It allows ideas and challenges to flow pleasantly from either side of the argument and helps one to expand their own perspectives as well.
Listen, intently to someone’s arguments and organize them mentally or, if possible, on paper. Ask questions where clarification is needed. Having a genuine and critical interest in different stances makes arguing more pleasant and productive.
Practice actual tolerance
Actual tolerance is the arguing of someone’s ideas not calling someone stupid for their beliefs. There’s NOTHING wrong with someone disagreeing with your beliefs or ideas and the people who believe in opposing things still deserve respect as individuals, especially when there’s the possibility that either viewpoint could be wrong or lack something.
Be patient when someone explains their views and don’t think disgust for someone else’s ideas as a reason to treat that person as a lower being.
Of course, it’s hard to think about these things in the middle of any discussion. At the end of the day, the goal is to be respectful, empathetic, and to diligently base our opinions on facts and in compassion.
