Israel is a murderous country; Israel is unblemished and has never done anything wrong. Liz Cheney is a “bitter horrible person”; Liz Cheney is right and every other Republican that doesn’t back her is a coward. Masks are useless and you’re a sheep if you wear one; you must wear a mask or you do not care about the elderly who have died of COVID-19.
All of the above statements are false, so why is so much of our discourse surrounded by one or the other? Where is the sanity in any of our talking points today? Why can’t nuance be valued?
Every person that has ever taken a breath on this side of heaven has been nuanced. Some people love you, and some people can’t stand you. Heck, even Hitler and Stalin had their admirers, and still do. And believe it or not, some people actually dislike Chick-fil-A. Two things can be true at once, and often are. Israel has killed innocent children, and Israel wouldn’t have killed those innocent children if Hamas wouldn’t have used them as human shields, or if they hadn't created an ammo depot in a residential apartment. Yes, masks do provide some protection from COVID-19, but they aren’t foolproof, and most people that don’t wear them actually do care if an elderly person dies from COVID-19.
Our politics today are so saturated with party loyalty that nuanced arguments are deemed illegitimate, and if you differ with one view from your fellow Republicans, or fellow Democrats, you aren’t a true Republican or Democrat (insert the Liz Cheney debate). Much of this paradox is exacerbated by cable television, which covers the issues to persuade you to think the “other side” is the dark side, which is hell-bent on trying to burn down the country. But in reality, the overwhelming majority of Americans are nuanced, sane, and don’t want to burn down the country.
The way our system is set up incentivizes pitting us against one another, which is exactly why we should think long and hard when politicians, cable news, or media companies are covering an issue the way they do. More often than not, the issue isn’t as bad as what they are saying, and there is a lot more to the story than what they are leading you to believe. Take for instance the Israel and Hamas issue. It’s a lot more complicated than Israel is “committing genocide,” or that “Palestinians have no right to be upset with Israel.”
Many elites in our society want regular, everyday people to think we live in a black and white world (literally), but you must dig deeper to see how much grey is really in the world. Research is key. Do not rely on social media, a meme, cable news, or a sound bite from your favorite politician to persuade you what you need to know about an issue. Usually, these sorts of posts and people only cover a sliver of the story.
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