Apolitical philosophy cures social violence

Connor de Bruler

debrulerc@mytjnow.com 

Our times are divisive times. 

I am not a particularly political individual. I am a registered Democrat and I’ll admit I probably won’t deviate from that party affiliation too much in my career as a voting citizen. Aside from my loose alliance with all things decidedly liberal, I am not a very politically aware person. I don’t know who ran in the local elections last November and I don’t know which bills are headed for the senate. 

It doesn’t interest me. 

Perhaps I’m the problem. People like me who aren’t familiar with local, state or national politics can’t be expected to make rational choices when they go to vote. 

Well, I’ll also admit that I didn’t vote in the S.C. state elections last November. I was registered and everything, but I just didn’t make the trip down to my district to vote. 

Many would frown upon this decision, or lack thereof. 

The real reason I didn’t vote had nothing to do with philosophy, but pragmatism. I was having personal problems and I was late in trying to get an absentee ballot. If it makes anyone feel better, I voted for our current president. 

I am the self-proclaimed poster boy for the apolitical. 

If I were politically aware, I would definitely be able to form a compelling argument as to why politics are ripping this country apart. 

But I can’t do that. 

Watching me attempt a political debate is like watching a chipmunk attempt to beat a grizzly bear to death. The chipmunk and I, we just aren’t prepared. The people I talk to have statistical figures and historical anecdotes on the tips of their tongues like a battalion of tanks ready to invade a small country whose primary domestic product are cheap baseball caps and bread. 

I do pride myself on being socially aware, and I think that counts for something. I see so much divisiveness used by both political parties and the media alike. In the last two years, I’ve seen this divisiveness increase, mostly at the fault of conservatives. 

This country just received a grim wake-up call in the form of dead bystanders and an honest politician, Gabrielle Giffords, sustaining a bullet through her head. 

The divisiveness we have embraced in this country is spawning genuine hatred. After the recent violence in Tucson, Ariz., I don’t think anyone would be so bold as to deny this truth. The Tea Party and GOP in general are whipping insane and uneducated people into a mob-like frenzy with their blatant and ill-informed rhetoric. Sarah Palin had rifle cross-hairs on her action plan map, according to ABC. 

In Jamaica, the Jamaica Labour Party and the People’s National Party have been at each other’s throats for so long that the struggle has degenerated into a bloody, perpetual gang war. I don’t think Americans want this kind of reality. 

As college students, we should be the first to stand up and say enough is enough. The divisive rhetoric is killing this nation’s soul. 

Unfortunately, this column is fairly divisive, which is only a testament to how pervasive conflict have become. Finally, it’s reached the apolitical. 

What if we all thought we were different versions of the same person? What if we preached more unity? What if the human race was seen as a singular entity? Would anything change? 

No one has the answer. But I am certainly interested in how these principle can be applied.