By Caelan Saunders

Editor-in-Chief

The problems that plague society are a constant companion to the leaders of the world. We try to strike down one problem at a time just as another arises; it’s a challenge we will face every day, always. Yet, it’s also what gives us a purpose in life – to rid the problems affecting one’s self and attain a state of balance, perfection.

The key phrase, however, is ‘affecting one’s self.’ Rarely is it ever a priority to help someone when it’s not directly affecting you. The universal attitude seems to be that we have too many problems of our own to worry about anything else. The United States, a first world country, alone faces a myriad of problems: climate change, privacy, unemployment, retirement, health care, criminal justice, terrorism, militarization , social welfare, racism, poverty, inequality, and the list continues. This house is divided more than ever as people rally, unwaveringly, behind one of these many societal issues and are unwilling to form compromises in their conquest for their view of what’s perfection. It’s become easier to say no to everything as every step in one direction means that some other cause might be negatively impacted, and for some reason we see this as either going nowhere or regressing. Nothing can be perfect, though, and it’s unrealistic to think so and to only affirm perfect plans. “Perfect” plans are those made of compromise and compromise means both having the empathy to understand the other’s problems and being able to make your own sacrifices.

I believe that to even begin to solve any one of these societal issues, there has to be a change in attitude in the United States. This stubborn, egotistical way of thinking that there are only certain problems that matter and there is only one absolute way to solve them has caused an outbreak of fear mongering and the destruction of education in society. Every day I see peers, friends and adults all play into this one-sided, uneducated, bigotry. This problem isn’t limited to just politics, it seeps into the lives of ordinary people. People not listening or empathizing with one another results only in circle arguments, and nothing is accomplished. Bigotry is the leading cause of both blindness and deafness, and we have a pandemic on our hands.

I personally find this problem terrifying. We as a united people could achieve so much, especially in the age of the internet and technology, which only further connects us as a people. I want to be able to see true advancement in the society we live in, and I believe it’s more possible than it’s ever been before. Society is much more self aware and accountable than ever now that all eyes are watching. We have access to all this knowledge, information, and different views that we can use to better ourselves and the places we live. The United States is a diverse country rich with different perspectives and values and we should use that to our advantage, instead of being bitter and hateful about it. Politicians and other influential people sow these seeds of intolerance and use them to further their own personal agenda through fear mongering.

The only way I see effectively combatting this type of selfish and immoral political scheme is by educating people. Voter apathy is such a huge issue in a government that prides itself on being a democracy. If we were to educate people and get them to care, or at least fundamentally understand the problems going on, we might be able to accomplish something meaningful. The first step of being empathetic is understanding and seeing the whole story and not just a biased half. Thoroughly educating kids on social issues, stopping the obscene amount of bias in the media, and drowning out the bigots who cry foul with knowledge is how we can stop this trend. It’s how we can be better.