If I could summarize the constant change of media in one sentence, it would go something like this: every individual with a strong opinion now has multiple platforms on which to express it. And if you're anything like me, logging onto your various social media accounts sends you into a frenzy. I know you want to argue. I know you want to tell off your cousin who always finds a way to say just the right thing to set you off, or explain your ideology when a Facebook friend has something negative to say about it. I know because I have been there. But lately I've realized that maybe this is not the way to go, maybe we just need a better understanding of where we all come from. I like to think of it like coffee.
How do you take your coffee? Do you like it black, do you like a little cream or sugar, or do you hate it altogether? Maybe you're actually more of a tea person? Whatever you need in the early morning, picture this. Your favorite drink. You get it every day, it has always been your favorite. But at your regular spot, a new drink is being advertised. It is blended with a flavor you have never cared for, so you would never think about ordering it. But your friend loves this flavor. They start getting this drink over their old favorite. Does that mean you think of them any differently? Sure, you would never care for that drink, it doesn't appeal to you at all, but you can't possibly understand how it tastes to them. It doesn't mean that your friend is any different for favoring that drink, or the coffee shop should stop serving it just because you don't care for it. Or maybe you tried to introduce someone to your favorite latte. They have never tried that flavor, so they refuse to get it. Would you force them to drink it because you think they will like it once they try it? Of course not. Would you consider them less of a friend for not trying it? Never. When we cannot possibly know how something tastes to someone, how can we know how politics applies to them personally?
Because we're all humans, and we all make judgments, you can be disgusted with someone for favoring an ideology, political or social. But just like you had an experience with a flavor that rubbed you wrong, they had an experience that upset them.Or maybe they have yet to have an experience, maybe they are simply unexposed. I log onto Facebook and feel my anxiety creep up on me when I witness an endless stream of post after post of constant disagreement. Constant assumptions, shaming, and bashing. It led me to feel absolutely hopeless about the state of our country, that this back and forth between parties would never end. But the more I thought of it, the more I realized we are only as divided as we make ourselves. Maybe we just don't understand each other, or where we come from. Maybe some of us are unexposed, out of touch, and misinformed. Instead of trying to get the last word, maybe we need to use media to simply help each other understand. Instead of trying to push why our drink is the best drink, and if you don't like it there must be something wrong with you, try understanding why this will never ever be realistic. There will be coffee drinkers. There will be tea drinkers. There will some who like a nice latte, or someone who would rather have cappuccino. Just remember, it tastes good to them for a reason, and you can never change that.
