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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline MAY 31, 2024 | The Indian Eye 16

How to stay sane as political polarization

haunts our personal lives

Comments from a cross-section of people in America and India.

PARVEEN CHOPRA the more people will follow you and share your stuff. or foes. Listening is in good character. But giving
Third, cable news. Before he got moved out one's opinion is a responsibility when defending
Editor, ALotusInTheMud.com
of Fox News, Tucker Carlson had 4 million view- one’s country.
eing editor of ALotusInTheMud.com does ers. Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, like the far left, We need character building at the societal and
not make me immune to getting affected gets 3 million viewers—but only out of 350 million national levels, which is valuable for civility in all
Bby political polarization. At a recent family people in America. Yet, such extreme voices are conduct. We should have the confidence to express
get-together in India, the conversation veered to controlling the political debate. Their job is not to ourselves in a peaceful manner yet with integrity
politics, and a close relative remarked, “Our leader educate people but to keep them watching by en- of purpose.
is a messiah.” That was a bridge too far for me. I raging them.
caught the pitch of my voice rising amid arguments The fourth problem, and the most dangerous, God also loves those who
before I de-escalated. is that our strategic adversaries — Russia, Iran,
As an Indian-American journalist, I have been North Korea, and others — are using our freedom are wrong
reporting the widening chasm between political and our social media to whip up passions in our
parties and ideologies in America and India. What country. They supply people with disinformation
is more worrisome is that politics is becoming per- on divisive issues. They prop up both sides and
sonal now—heated arguments, strained interac- get everybody yelling and screaming at each other.
tions, and even rifts are erupting as so many of us The big new division is over Israel and Gaza.
find it hard to respect differing viewpoints. Unfortunately, the longer we are distracted and
Here are comments from prominent people in fighting with each other, the less likely we can solve
the US and India reflecting on the new malaise and the problems we face in our country and the world.
possible antidotes: I’m constantly working to try and heal that di-
vide. My advice is, don’t believe it if somebody says
Don’t hold in contempt those Republicans hate people with brown skin or that they
we disagree with don’t care about the poor or the environment. Yes,
there are some people who are akin to what the oth-
er side’s saying. But most people are in the middle.

Character building is valuable Rev Thomas W. Goodhue
for civility United Methodist clergyman, former Director of
the Long Island Council of Churches
olitical polarization takes a toll on relation-
ships, but even though my wife and I disagree
Pwith another couple about many issues, they
remain our best friends. I grew up in a family that
discussed both religion and politics at the dinner ta-
ble, we have deep differences over religion, but we
still love each other. How is this possible?
Listen before you speak. I am more likely to
Congressman Tom Suozzi remain civil if somebody says, “I hear what you
are saying, but I see things differently,” or “I agree
Third-time Democratic Member of the House, with you about this and so, but I wonder if… ”
former Nassau County Executive Admit your own ambivalence. It is far better
to admit that you have struggled with bias yourself
esus said not only to love your neighbor but to than to call your in-law a bigot.
love your enemies too. So, just because we dis- Kiran Bedi
Use humor, particularly if you are the brunt
Jagree with others doesn’t mean that we hold Former Lt Governor of Puducherry, ‘Supercop’ of the joke. In discussing immigration, I often
them in contempt. suggest that when my Puritan ancestors landed in
Yes, political polarization is happening in es, I have witnessed conversations turn vit-
America. Four factors are causing it. riolic on TV shows, particularly in debates. Massachusetts in 1636, the residents probably said,
“There goes the neighborhood!”
One, most of the 435 seats in Congress are safe YThey are often rude, crude, loud, and not
Remember that God also loves those who
seats – Republican or Democrat. Representatives based on facts. They are misleading. They appear are wrong, including that relative who drives you
from those seats listen to only one group that can intentionally for a vested interest. That is also an- crazy. As Martin Luther said, “God carves rotten
defeat them: those who vote in the primaries, who ti-national, even hostile. wood and rides the lame horse.”
are often the extreme, right, or left. How can we maintain serenity and calm amid
Two, social media is to blame. The more out- flared tempers? Civility is a learned culture, wheth-
landish or extreme things you say on social media, er in public places or at home with family, friends,

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