Is America’s democracy okay? Well, is it?

What does a healthy democracy resemble?

Audio files nearly ten years old were released yesterday depicting gross language and incriminating evidence of how Donald Trump talks about women when he thinks that the microphones are “off.” After hearing these tapes I am disheartened at the state of our nation’s political affairs. I find myself caught between two candidates, neither of which I am drawn to, and I wonder how people are making up their minds to vote.

Parker Palmer, author of Healing the Heart of Democracy, sympathizes with my feelings of sadness. In his book he writes about the ecosystem of democracy, something that he says is similar to the biodiversity of a prairie (Palmer 11). In the grasslands of the Midwest, competition between species offers resilience and adaptability. Does this principle apply to democracy too? Are we better off with our nation’s diversity in opinions and perspectives?

Palmer would write “yes,” and I agree with him. However, it is important to consider that diversity can also lead to another word: dysfunctionality. Dysfunctionality, writes Palmer, occurs when we refuse to hold the opinions of others along with our own. How often do we write off other people simply because of differences in belief? Do we choose to argue before we choose to listen? In order to have a healthy democracy we cannot interrupt one another like Trump and Clinton in the first Presidential debate. Honestly, that is no way to have a conversation.

We need to learn to live within the tension. It is difficult but rewarding to openly wrestle with the opinions and beliefs of others in relation to our own. If I acknowledge this hard truth, I begin to have questions like: “why do you believe that?” or “why do you think that is best for our nation?” Usually, when I take the time to talk with others, asking similar questions, I find they have highly personal and understandable evidence to support their claims.

Purposefully challenging our psyche by trying to understand others can be stressful. It is well accepted that there are two types of stress we can suffer from: distress and eustress. Distress is negative and destructive. Eustress is positive and leads to growth (Palmer 13). What this means, is that even the body can benefit from a certain kind of stress. One example of eustress from my own life comes from a disagreement that I shared with one of my roommates. We have different opinions on the use of GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) and our argument ended when we both realized we did not know nearly enough about the opposing sides. Long after our talk, I still found myself thinking about what he had said, wrestling with its significance. I asked myself questions like: “Why does he believe that?” I can’t say that I have reached any conclusions, but our discussion did enlarge my perspective on the whole debate.

I’ll be the first to admit that I can have strong-minded opinions, but shouldn’t we attempt to consider the other side? We cannot continue to hate politics, refusing to talk about these issues. What situation has ever improved without first being talked about? Columnist and author E.J. Dionne Jr. wrote many years ago that, “a nation that hates politics will not long thrive as a democracy” (Palmer 17). How true that is? Can we expect our government to change if we are not willing to participate? I urge you all to go out and sit down with someone opposed to your opinions, have a conversation, and don’t be afraid to live within the tension.