By: Maddie Schmidt
The last time I heard a political opinion that I strongly disagreed with, my first reaction wasn’t curiosity; it was irritation. Frustration is common when listening to someone or something that we think is wrong, but it should not be the first response.
In a polarized political climate, choosing to actively listen to opposing viewpoints isn’t simply a courtesy. It’s essential for critical thinking, better understanding, stronger arguments and a healthier society.
Actively listening to opposing views strengthens our reasoning skills and prevents us from living in echo-chambers of our own making. I have caught myself in the habit of only consuming media from one side of the political aisle, choosing to ignore the other.
It might feel as if listening to the content that we agree with is expanding our knowledge and making us deeper thinkers, but we are not really thinking deeply at all if we are not contending with opinions that we disagree with.
The only way to know what our own opinions are is to disagree and set them apart.
When interacting with people or content on the “other side,” it’s easy to assume the worst. People often take on a superiority complex when contending with something or someone that they believe is in the wrong, which stunts our ability to find common ground and understanding.
Choosing to actively listen to those with whom we disagree humanizes them, and we learn to have a greater sense of humility through those experiences. We can learn that our own opinions, although we may hold fast to them, are not the only reasonable ones.
Everyone has their own reasons for their worldview, and taking the time to understand where others are coming from gives us a better outlook on our own stance. It helps us to think critically about why we believe what we believe..
Not only does listening to viewpoints that we disagree with give us a better sense of our own opinions, but it strengthens our ability to have conversations with others. We can sympathize and ask open-hearted questions more effectively when we better understand the counter argument. We also can get our own point of view across in a way that might not have been possible before.
Furthermore, being curious about other people’s opinions makes conversations with them more enjoyable. If we have already shown someone respect and acceptance despite a point of disagreement, we are less likely to get frustrated when talking about the same issue with someone else. Most of the time, a conversation with someone who has a completely different outlook than we do is more fruitful and stimulating than with someone who agrees with us on everything.
I’m not trying to say that this is all easy. It’s difficult to try to understand something that we don’t already believe. It’s frustrating to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes when we feel that the answer to a problem should be obvious.
Sometimes it’s upsetting to talk to someone whose views are radically different than our own, especially if that person is also clearly frustrated by the difference in opinion.
However, it gets easier with practice. Staying calm and remaining curious instead of becoming defensive in the face of disagreement is a skill that we must hone, not one that we can expect to receive without effort.
Some people might argue that we should ignore harmful or extreme views to keep them from spreading or gaining legitimacy. I believe, however, that turning a blind eye seems more dangerous than helpful.
If we think a particular viewpoint is harmful, why not interact with someone who holds it and try to understand both it and them better? Then, we can become more knowledgeable in how to counteract those ideas and improve as a society.
We must remember that listening to extraordinary ideas does not automatically mean that we agree with them or that people who hold them are our enemies. Contemplating these ideas does not mean that they go unchallenged. We should exercise discernment, not blind openness.
Tethering ourselves to one extreme or the other when it comes to the media we consume or the people with whom we interact is damaging to ourselves and to society as a whole. We stunt our own growth as an active citizen when we only interact with opinions similar to our own.
I think it’s a common misconception that we must choose one political party or the other when deciding which stances with which we agree or disagree. I don’t see a problem with cherry-picking from both, as long as we remain steadfast in our search for truth and reason.
This “cherry-picking” will look vastly different from person to person, but no matter what our opinions are, we should strive to strengthen them by grappling with the ideas that make us uncomfortable. We might be a less divided society if more people practiced the skill of disagreement.
Listening to the other side of the argument won’t always change our minds, but it might change how we think. That is the first step toward real progress.
