EDITORIAL –
The 2010s began with a renewed sense of hope. It seemed that after the turmoils of the first decade of the twenty-first century we could only be on an upward trajectory. However, we enter the 2020s more divided than ever, with our differences more prevalent and tolerance for our respective opinions quickly disappearing. If we do not improve moving forward, then I fear for the state of our society and our ability to co-exist with differing perspectives on various issues.
We commenced the decade with signs of hope and prosperity. President Barack Obama had been in the White House for one year and Americans were in awe of the Affordable Care Act. In Europe, bailouts had been agreed and unemployment was steadily declining in major economies. Australia had averted recession while China’s economy was growing rapidly. The Middle East was beginning to settle after preceding belligerence, with further jubilation after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden in 2011. It seemed as if we were entering a period of stabilisation. But how wrong we were. Little did we know this would all be flipped within 10 years.
It’s true that the 2010s marked a point of great change in the geopolitical landscape – it further exacerbated societal rifts and divisions. What was the pinnacle of this? Greater intolerance and disrespect for differing opinions. Although more evident in the past few years, the general populous have been further exposed to cheap attacks and a lack of substantial discussion on key issues – we have decided to merely fight over petty squabbles than resolve our differences. This is truly pathetic in the twenty-first century, especially after the struggles of the preceding century.
For me, this was brought home by the death of Arizona Senator John McCain in August 2018. Devoted to public service his entire life, McCain epitomised reaching across the political divide. Republicans and Democrats acknowledged his bipartisan efforts and respect for all. This was evident during the 2008 Presidential Election when McCain (the Republican nominee) defended then-Senator Obama from slurs made against him, calling him “a decent, family man.” This would seem unbelievable today in contrast to the nicknames and dirty-nature of recent campaigns.
One of the last acts McCain took in the Senate was in July 2017 (two weeks after brain surgery), voting against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, defying party lines. His speech from the Senate floor highlighted the poor state of modern politics:
“I hope we can again rely on humility, on our need to cooperate, on our dependence on each other to learn how to trust each other again and by so doing better serve the people who elected us. Stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths… To hell with them. They don’t want anything done for the public good… Let’s trust each other. Let’s return to regular order. We’ve been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle… We’re getting nothing done.”
Senator John McCain
25 July 2017
It’s true, our politicians place greater reliance on partisanship than compromise. While there are exceptions to this, they have been overshadowed by name-calling, personal attacks, and inaction. Calling opponents “crooked” or “lyin” is not right and just wastes valuable time that could be used to fix our problems. It also doesn’t help when a cross-section of the public is also disparaged for their beliefs, a charge recently alleged by former UK Labour MP Caroline Flint, who claimed Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry called Brexiteers in Labour-voting areas “ignorant”. Now Thornberry is suing Flint, and instead of seeing what the Labour Party did wrong they are diving into a petty squabble. It’s pathetic to see that the past decade has brought about such a lowering of leadership.
But what is sadder is that such behaviour is now being mimicked by the public. The 2016 US Presidential Election was the pinnacle of hatred. Besides the large-scale protests and high-energy rallies, the lack of respect shown by fervent supporters of both Clinton and Trump to each other illustrates the disintegration of tolerance we once held for differing opinions. This was also evident in the Brexit referendum and multiple elections in Western democracies. For some reason, we are suddenly writing off those who don’t agree with us. But why? Have we just lost patience with our fellow human being or has the advent of social media just inflamed tensions? There isn’t one answer but a multitude of factors too voluminous to discuss here.
As previously mentioned, if we are not careful this disregard for others will become the norm and cheap attacks will be all we are used to. Already we are seeing this emerge in younger generations – intolerance for the opinions of others and a reluctance to collaborate and compromise. It is becoming difficult to have an intelligible conversation with most of our youth without being shot down for not sharing a similar viewpoint or partisan label. Shame!
We live in a sad state of affairs. This article doesn’t intend to be critical of any individual beliefs. If we don’t change our attitudes towards each other then we will continue to live in a fractured society, scarred to discuss important issues without having our heads bitten off. We are in danger of entrenching such intolerance in the next generation and this is a real worry. Many stalwarts of reaching across the divide are gone and we now must take it upon ourselves to fix this broken culture.
Since May 2018, I have spouted this sentiment over and over again, so I’m sorry to sound like a broken record. However, this is really important as we are going further down the precipice. I may seem like an idealist (I’m actually a realist through and through) but I know that we can compromise and have tolerance for our respective opinions, with Pivot a testament to these ideals. This project has brought together people from all beliefs with the writers able to have fruitful discussions and learn from each other, regardless of their differences.
I leave you all with one challenge moving forward – don’t write off others for their opinions. Instead, learn why they actually think the way they do. Only through this will we become a more enlightened society and resolve many issues inflicting us all. Let’s make the 2020s the beginning of a golden era of greater tolerance and respect.
