Staff Ed: A class divided? More discussion, less disputing, needed

In today’s landscape of American politics, there is a wide range of political opinions, which is one of the foundational ideas of freedom and democracy. But what happens when these opinions grow radical and infuse themselves in the microcosm of a high school?

With national political parties splitting the nation into “red” and “blue,” there is a feeling of division and separation between people in different places on the political spectrum.

“People just … won’t open their minds to something that’s not like what they affiliate with,” said OH senior and True Colors President and Social Media Manager Kiersa Downs.

While political beliefs are a spectrum, with many constantly competing groups and beliefs, it’s important to remember that the ultimate goal of all sides is to bring about what’s best for the country— the debate is over what that “best” is.

“Being liberal means that you want to make change in society… because you see imperfections,” AP US Gov and Civics Teacher and Youth in Government Sponsor Brenda Shay said. “Conservatives kind of like things the way they are, or they want to go back to a way that it used to be when the good old days were better.”

Differing opinions are one of the foundations of democracy— the right to have a voice and openly disagree with each other and with the government was the first thing added to the bill of rights — but nowadays, we see more disputing than discussion.

“When Obama was going up for his presidency against [then senator of California, they were] complimenting each other, you know, and saying that… ‘We still are people, and we still respect each other, but we come from different sides of the spectrum, and we… represent different things.’”  OH junior and OH Youth in Government member Sophie Glynn said. “Today it’s not as civil, and I think that the adults can take a page out of their books and, you know, learn some respect for each other.”

That division has made its way into the OH community.

“Queer people have a lot of [negative] stereotypes and I tell you from experience, um, a lot of people still think that … At the Club Fair for all the freshmen, [the discrimination] was really bad,” Downs said.

While a lot of progress has been made, there are a lot of instances where people still lean into stereotypes and make hurtful comments or behaviors. The goal of True Colors is to create a safe space for LGBTQIA+ students and their allies to have visibility and comfort with peers. Members of OH’s chapter of Club America, an affiliate of Turning Point USA and the “the leading youth movement for freedom-loving American values,” have similar goals.

“They believe that in the school [Republicans] are the minority, so they really want this to be a club where the minority is able to come together and like, it’s a safe space for them,” OH senior & Club America member Liam Piechowski said.

The issue isn’t unique to high schoolers, and it isn’t our fault. While many people fall somewhere into the moderate spectrum, when social media personalities and politicians are constantly polarizing and baiting angry reactions, it gets harder and harder to see the potential for compromise. As of recent years, even presidential debates have frequently devolved into shouting matches and competitions to talk louder than the other candidate.

“The extreme news media just try to make things so polarizing, so people… are just landlocked in their decision, and they will never try to view a different side… Both parties just do not want to have any compromise, so, if you believe in something that one of the parties believes in, you’re almost set on that,” Piechowski said.

These issues can be especially common in high schools, where students are teens and young adults, old enough to be developing their own political beliefs and be willing to debate them, but are not necessarily experienced enough to do so effectively. The issue has become more pressing recently as more teenagers rely on social media rather than traditional news sources.

“The algorithms that you’re fed on your social media, and some of these talk shows that refuse, they’re so biased, you know, so extreme… I think it’s dangerous,” Shay said.  

Shay is right. Social media’s algorithm isn’t always made to be informational: it’s made to keep you hooked, and nothing keeps viewers more interested than hot debates about pressing topics, because people like to fight for what they believe in.

“Nowadays, everybody is on social media, and like the age of people on social media has been getting younger and younger, and so… your feed starts to get connected to you,” Downs said. 

While a lot of people aren’t willing to go out of their way to find unbiased sources, or information about a variety of perspectives, it is part of people’s civic responsibility to develop opinions and educate ourselves. While it may be more work, going to sources like the Associated Press or National Public Radio, even if it is their social media accounts, can make a major difference in understanding the full scope of an issue.

“You’ve got to check other sources. You’ve got to, as an American, understand that we have a free press for a reason, so we can see different perspectives,” Shay said. “It doesn’t mean you have to be friends with everybody. It doesn’t mean you have to change your opinion. You just really gotta try to understand where people are coming from.”

The goal of stopping division isn’t getting rid of opinions or abandoning beliefs: instead, promoting open mindedness, willingness to listen and value other opinions, and appreciating all classmates’ perspectives, life experiences, and beliefs is what we call for.

While people shouldn’t be expected to ignore issues or not discuss them, they should be expected to do so in a respectful manner.

No student, regardless of political beliefs, past experience, or social standing should feel like their opinions are not heard or valued here at Oswego High School.