You Don’t Have to Choose a Side
By: Cameron Adams
Tags: Social Justice, Social Change, Politics

The first presidential election that I was eligible to vote in was Obama vs McCain. I don’t remember much about that election, but I do remember the divisiveness. I also remember not feeling particularly represented by either candidate. The experience I had in the 2008 election has gone unchanged with the subsequent three presidential elections (Obama vs Romney, Trump vs Hillary, Biden vs Trump).

It seems as though for each presidential cycle, the stakes grow higher. The extreme consequences portrayed by voting for either side feels exponential. Part of that is rooted in the reality of the polarization between the two parties, the other part rooted in fear mongering marketing.

That polarization demonstrated by the folks running our country is having a top-down effect on its citizens. While we do have extremists representing either polar end (Antifa, Proud Boys), 99% of the country are not extremists. Yet, for those that do not accept the ideology of the extremes, there is constant pressure to accept the actions and thoughts of those at either polar end of the spectrum.

The evolution of the George Floyd murder is an interesting example of this. Watching that 8 minute and 46 second video was horrifying. My immediate thoughts and feelings were like those of so many other people: these officers need to be charged with murder. As the protests wore on, the media coverage became polarizing. We were being backed into a corner where we had to choose a side that included supporting looting and defunding the police, or choosing a side that included accepting the current state of policing in totality and being anti-BLM. It did not feel as though there was middle ground. If the narrative represented the majority of the country, perhaps it would have looked like: denounce the looting; advocate the charging of the officers and reforming pieces of modern policing.

Not only are the narratives on both sides polarizing, they are over simplified for easy consumption. The most complex and emotionally charged issues are often boiled down to a 5th grade level thesis. Take for instance President Trump’s 60+ ‘Law and Order’ tweets. These tweets are of course in reference to the protests. It’s funny how those three words can fuel the divisiveness. Are you for Law and Order, or are you against Law and Order? Are you for the collective actions of the protests or are you against the collective actions of the protests. For many of us, it was somewhere in the middle. The majority of the protestors were marching for legitimate reason and were non-violent, but had bad actors attached. The majority of America would agree that law and order should stand and those bad actors should face consequences for their actions. The majority of America might also agree that the non-violent protestors should not have their first amendment right to peacefully assemble infringed upon.

If you look at any social issue going on today, you are told to choose a side. Accept all of it, or you’re on the other side. But, you do not have to choose a side. I mean this in two ways.

First, if you choose to engage with an issue, remember that both sides will promote truths, lies, exaggerations, and understatements. It is up to you to put up a shield against the polarization, find the truths, make a stance upon those truths, and also be flexible as issues evolve and new information become available.

Second, you do not have to engage with every issue. I don’t even mean this to be strictly publicly (in conversation or social media posts), this also includes internally and emotionally. It’s ok to ignore issues and not take a stance. For taking a stance, in the correct way, is just too exhausting for every issue.

This sounds silly to type out, but the realization that neither side owns me, the realization that I own my thought, the realization that I can not be summed up with a political label has been extremely liberating.

My challenge to you is to not choose a side. Just try it. Pick an issue, find pros and cons on both sides of the aisle, and be at peace knowing that the truth is in the middle.