All you need to do in order to get a good idea of how polarized our nation is, is turn the channel from CNN to Fox News. All you need to do to see how polarized our everyday life is, is start an argument about whether you think Beyonce is the GOAT or not. If you want to see how polarized our world is, all you need to do is look at the massacres in Christchurch, and even more recent, Sri Lanka.

We live in a world where there is no longer such a thing as balance. We believe that if you are not one thing, you are the complete opposite. If you are not Republican you are Democrat. If you are not Bloods, you’re Crip. If you’re not a pro-capitalist, you’re a communist. Our world carries many colors – all the colors of the rainbow – but for some reason all we see is Black and White. Whatever happened to balance? Whatever happened to the middle?

Is it that we as a world or a nation cannot find a way to coexist and implement an order that supports the advancement of all of us as a people? Is this an intangible vision? Have we done all that we can to achieve this vision? I don’t believe so. I believe that there is an enemy amongst us, that causes us to continue to separate ourselves in this world based on our tribes and beliefs. This enemy is pride. It gets in the way of everything.

Let me clarify that there are a plethora of reasons that can explain why we are so polarized, but I would like to focus on this reason. If you are from “the Left”, when is the last time you read a political piece written by someone on “the Right”? (and vice versa). What if they had something really good to say, even if it was just one point? Maybe you’re a racist hillbilly. When’s the last time you had a productive conversation with a Black woman? What if she happened to have the answer to a burning question you’ve been unable to answer? Pride. We take a look at someone or, predict what they might believe, and then we totally close ourselves off to anyway we can possible learn from them.

Sometimes closing ourselves off to the “other side” makes sense. I will never waste time listening to a speech by David Duke. I’m not saying that we need to waste our time with nonsense here. There are some people who care less about a bright future for everyone. These aren’t the people I’m saying we need to listen to. However, I did want to address the fact that gang mentality has interrupted too many avenues of our lives. It’s always us against them, stay loyal to your set (or political group) (or ideology). We were all put on this world knowing nothing. Everything we know has been learned for the most part. Never get to a place where you feel like you know everything there is to know. Just like you are passionate about what you believe in, there is a reason why the other side may be passionate about what they believe in even if it’s the complete opposite. Let’s learn why.

At the end of the day, we can all learn a little bit from each other. I’m not saying everyone needs to change their mind about the things that they believe. All I’m saying is that being so prideful and never even trying to engage in productive conversation with the other side only continues a cycle of polarization and hate. We need to do better. Aren’t all of our end goals to live in a utopia, and for everyone to live a great life? So let’s remember that we have these beliefs in the first place to make positive change. That means that putting our pride down should be a cheap price to pay for a greater future. Polarization is a killer. It’s a divider. All we need to do to start fixing it is put some of our pride away and give a listening ear. Every human on the other side is not insane or crazy. What’s their story? Why do they believe what they believe? Are you curious?

Let’s talk about it.