Last updated on January 15, 2021
Remember, let’s be polite; let’s be respectful, but most of all, let’s be outspoken.
Look at what happened yesterday with horror and shock and that, if we are all Americans, at least that much we should agree upon, and it doesn’t matter if we are talking about violence done at the capitol building or violence done in Kenosha, this kind of activity cannot go in the United States of America.
Yesterday was an egregious symbol of the state to which our republic has sunk. We need to pick ourselves up. Remember that we are still members of the same country, look to the constitution as our guide to follow the law, and recognize that we are still citizens of the greatest republic in the history of the world.
– Ben Shapiro on his January 7th 2021 episode of the Ben Shapiro Show
There were several moments in 2020 that made me believe America could unify. When COVID-19 threatened the safety and health of the nation, I believed Republicans and Democrats alike could band together and fight COVID-19.
Yet, despite the urgency of this global pandemic, politicians downplayed its threat, held up stimulus check negotiations, and encouraged tens of millions of people to protest. Simply, politicians played partisan games in talks of economic relief negotiations or divided states’ handling of the virus by party lines.
The second time I thought the country could unify was in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. Every single person, left, right, and center, believed the police officer should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for placing his knee on George Floyd for eight minutes.
However, once again, politicians used it as an opportunity to score political points. The media pushed divisive notions of race in America. One of the most prolific notions stated America was founded in 1619 when the first slave came to what is now America, implying America is defined by slavery. Furthermore, House Democrats knelt for eight minutes in African garments to express solitude to BLM. Despite months of speeches, marches, petitions, grandstanding, violent demonstrations, and political campaigning, America apparently was still as racist as it was when Floyd died in police custody.
These opportunities to unify in the past year have shown that American politicians care more about scoring political points than advancing the interest of the American people. Therefore, it is not surprising when politicians weaponize the attack on our capital to bash a large portion of the American voter base.
Some Democrats in the media and the political sphere generalized the attack to suggest that every single Trump supporter or Republican encouraged or endorsed the egregious attack on the capital. While on the other hand, Republicans in the media and political sphere suggested that Democrats lost the moral high ground when they failed to condemn the violent BLM riots.
My point is, when it comes to calls of unification, broad-based generalizations about millions of people are most likely incorrect. The best way to unify or to seek common ground with the opposing side is to see that person as an individual with ideologies that are potentially separate from the stigmas or stereotypes of his political party.
The violent storming of the capital the world witnessed last week shook any rational person to their core. It presents a unique opportunity to see our fellow Americans as more than the political party they align with. I can only predict how the next administration will handle unification talks, but regardless of the rhetoric they put forth, the American people must see their neighbors as citizens of the same country.
Finally, a day after the capital’s storming, my math teacher suggested that the best among us are not constantly in the public eye or on television, but the ones that are continuously making an effort to better themselves. And in this bizarre array of cataclysmic events, that is what we all should do.
Remember, let’s be polite; let’s be respectful, but most of all, let’s be outspoken.
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