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John BakhtiariNovember, 29, 2016English 101Professor DeadrickThe Political Divide is an Injustice2016 has been a rough year in terms of politics. The intense political battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, as well as the population being completely ideologically divided is an injustice that has gone out of control. From both political parties slandering each other, to riots over Donald Trump winning the presidency, this election cycle has been a dirty one. In 2016, acts of political prejudice continually turn my stomach and recent events events are taking a dark turn for the worse. Both sides of the political spectrum (Liberals and Conservatives) tend to negatively stereotype each other and see the other ideology to be stupid, uneducated, and immoral. Harsh generalizations and a lack of empathy for the other ideology are toxic as both sides share the same goal of wanting to better our country. Conservatives are always calling Liberals, communists, lazy and entitled and on the other side of the spectrum, liberals call conservatives bigoted and backwards thinking. Both sides of the political spectrum seem to think of people with their ideology to be superior and see people with the other ideology to be inferior. The reason both sides of the political spectrum see the opposite as inferior is because they always see the other side as stupid, immoral, and regressive. When people see others with the opposite ideology as them as stupid immoral and regressive, it’s easy to dehumanize them and see them as inferior. Political prejudice is an injustice that must end. It seems that people are more politically polarized than ever before and if we ever want to move forward and make actual change, both sides must come to terms with each other. That is the only path towards justice. This political divide is worse than it has ever been. Congress has passed less laws in the past 8 years than ever due to having such a huge divide in ideologies. Tension between the major political candidates of this recent election cycle have been more heated than ever, and the very citizens of this country are bitter towards the side that they disagree with. Donald Trump implied that if he lost there would be riots, conveying conservatives everywhere should riot if Hillary Clinton won. Rioting after an election is a major injustice, the fundamental part of democracy is allowing the people to vote, the winner is declared the person that the people chose. If the losing party cannot accept that they lost that not only makes them a sore loser, but it also creates major political tension. Conservatives wanted there to be riots if Donald trump had lost the presidential election, this is proof that conservatives are unwilling to compromise. On the other side of the spectrum, liberals are just as bad as conservatives and there is actual evidence against them rioting because their candidate of choice lost. In a Fox News article, they claim that rioters against the president elect, Donald Trump, are saying “People need to die”” and “Die whites Die,” retorts like this show how rioters are morally inept. Months back, all liberal media news outlets criticized Donald Trump for implying there would be riots if he lost, in hindsight liberals are complete hypocrites. It seems both sides of the political spectrum are willing to commit injustice just because they didn’t get what they wanted. If both sides keep giving each other bigoted, polarizing retorts, there will never be compromise. The one flaw of democracy is the slow process for change to happen, and now that America has the most politically contracting views since the civil war, change is a rare occurrence. The reason this political divide and rioting is problematic, is because of the damage it is doing to society. Banks have been destroyed, people are protesting in a disruptive ways, there are videos of people interrupting traffic. The greatest battles of this generation won't be based on race, gender, or sexuality, at least not directly.The greatest battles of this generation are going to be battles of the Left and Right divide, as well as contrasting ideologies. These types of battles may not seem that bad, as political prejudice doesn't lead to slavery and oppression. However, it does lead to wars, censorship, cover-ups, rioting, and even the breakdown of democracy. Political division is the greatest weakness of democracy. At its core democracy needs compromise, and if people become too polarized, nothing will get done. These radicals have the mentality of “they all have to come to my way of thinking before we can move forward/stop this country from going down the tubes." What these radicals are advocating for is totalitarianism of their opinion. I fear that we have not yet seen the fullest extent of what political prejudice is going to do to this generation, but it's already set its course to be a major player. The logical extreme of what political divide leads to is a civil war. A civil war might seem unlikely in the next few years, but it seems America is currently on a slippery slope that might lead to one. Back in the 1800s America had been politically split mostly due to the topic of slavery. The country was divided by the north and the south.The South wanted to keep slavery across the country because they thought of it as a tradition. The North was different, they felt that slavery was evil and promoted inequality. The North and South are parallel to the way Conservatives and Liberals are in this day and age. The reaction the liberals have to Donald Trump winning is a very similar reaction the south had when Abraham Lincoln won. California threatened to succeed this nation all because the candidate that state didn’t endorse won the election. This political divide has gone so far that states don’t even want to be part of this nation anymore. Liberals believe that electing Trump will bring forth the end of America, the same way that the South believed that the abolishment of slavery would end this country. Nowadays, people are rioting back and forth about political correctness and how they must stay united, yet, they only feel united with their own side and refuse to tolerate the other. If both sides cannot accept each other than this political divide might turn into a civil war years down the line. Personally, I am a centrist and have been disgusted by the actions of people on both sides of the political spectrum. It’s easy to think of liberals as weak minded, self-entitled idiots much in the same way It is easy to see a conservative as unscientific, backwards thinking racists. American citizens must realize that whether someone is liberal or conservative, we are all Americans, and share the same goal of making our country the best we can make it.This political divide has created ideological prejudice, and the solution to prejudice is to be open minded.We must not see the other side of the political spectrum as less than us but rather people with a different but equally valid world view that we should openly and civilly discuss. The only way towards compromise, the only way towards peace is learning to understand both sides. We need to try and get back to the middle, and that can only happen by listening. While it is easy to believe that everything that the other side is saying is "regressive" or "racist", by not having an active conversation with the other side, it only dooms them to walk further and further down these pathways and create a cycle that it is increasingly difficult to break. Everyone needs to listen to ideas from people on the opposite side of the political spectrum and communicate their own ideas without going to extremes. Seeing both sides to the problem allows people to critically think and decide what they believe to be the best option for this country. People need to stop blindly following the liberal or conservative ideology but rather take the positive aspects of both and do away with the negatives. Through discussion is when everyone will come to make compromises and this nation won’t be so divided.Overall, the future for this country does not look good if both sides can’t come to respect and accept each other. This ideological divide could dangerously lead to a civil war or, in an extreme case, the fall of democracy. In 2016, we have seen some of the worst political divisions since the Civil War in the 1800s. ?Unless we start having open discussions and stop stifling others, these problems will continue. People will continue to let atrocities slide by as to not give political opponents power. Media will continue to lie. There will be more vandalism, more assault, and more hatred. And yes, there will be more people advocating for the removal of democracy because it allows opposing opinions. The future might look bleak, tomorrow is the future that we the citizens make it to be. We should all aim to be more open minded, and look forward to a better 2017.Works citedBattle ground america by Simon Tomlinson and Sam webb, November, 9th, 2016, video evidence of protesters disrupting the natural flow of society ‘Die Whites Die’: Anti-Trump Rioters Vandalize NOLA Monuments, John Binder, November, 10, 2016 Donald Trump Inciting Violence?, HYPERLINK "" Dahlia Lithwick. March, 15, 2016 ‘Calexit’: California Secession Supporters Submit Ballot Measure Proposal to State Officials, POSTED 9:58 AM, NOVEMBER 22, 2016, BY LOS ANGELES TIMES ................
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