There is a growing problem in this country that no one wants to address.

The blatant refusal by both liberals and conservatives to entertain the thought of being quiet and listening to an opinion they don’t agree with is indicative of this.

I’m not talking about the flat out refusal to let a Nazi leak his noxious ideas or the adamant rejection of anyone that believes in communism.

I’m talking about refusing to listen to, and spitefully attacking, ideas that even vaguely differ from one’s own.

When dialogue between two people of differing opinions is started, there should never be the idea in mind that there must be a clear winner. To imply that screaming over each other and attacking one another’s character is somehow justified and normal debate, is terrifying.

We live in a country that was founded on the ideal of compromise. When writing The U.S. Constitution, the founders of came upon seemingly impassible divides in ideas about how our country should run. After days of debate, instead of giving up they found solutions by compromising with each other. No party got exactly what they wanted, but they were able to find a middle ground that allowed the country to move forward.

There is no reason someone should just completely give into the ideals of somebody else and rescind their own, nobody should want that. The act of listening is not the same as giving in. The act of talking civilly with someone you disagree with is not completely abandoning your morals.

If this country is ever going to move forward again, the people need to have a meaningful dialogue with each other on how this country needs to be run, not a screaming fit.

Go and find a fellow ESU student who disagrees with you politically.

Engage them in meaningful discussion and maybe the rest of campus could eventually follow suit. Then perhaps one day the country will do the same and we will finally be able to solve our country’s problems in a positive way.