As much as any Sunday I can remember, today, as millions sit down to cheer on their favorite football team, the intermingling of politics and sport leaves an uncomfortable residue for many Americans. Frankly, as someone whose knowledge of football is limited to cheering on my favorite animal and has to look up what a tight-end is every time fantasy football draft time comes around, I’m actually relieved to have the conversation change to something I know a little bit more about. But that’s not what I’m writing about today. While I don’t think my opinion of players kneeling would surprise anyone, what I want to say has much more to do about the way we fight than the merits of our arguments.
That is to say, a lot of the arguments that I’ve seen on the topic have been completely without merit. I’ve seen dozens of posts from friends, people I respect, clinging to another post from a veteran who supports their position on either side, citing that as inarguable proof to the veracity of their argument for or against Kaepernick’s protest. Yes friends, we can all find a likeable source to make our argument for us. It does not make our argument stronger. It does not make us right.
I wish this were new. I wish this were limited to our discussions about athletes kneeling during the national anthem. It’s easy to get lost in the culture wars, and even easier to diminish our dialogue into a barrage of personal insults and broad-brushed attacks. How often have we seen Republicans accuse Democrats of not supporting troops as a way to bypass a discussion on the purpose of ongoing wars, or Democrats accuse Republicans of not caring about the poor as a way to ignore problems with the Affordable Care Act. You don’t like what someone coming to your campus has to say? Call them a Nazi. You don’t like the protests after Trump’s election? Call them thugs.
This line of argument, while sometimes effective at its real purpose of shutting down a genuine argument on an issue, is cheap and beneath you. It’s easy to make an argument against political extremes. It’s easy to point to horrific actions of the “alt-right” and then paint all Trump supporters as racist, or to calls for violence against police officers by a few protestors at a Black Lives Matter rally and write off the entire movement. It’s harder to sit down with someone who has a different viewpoint than your own and try to understand them.
I’m not suggesting that if we all sit by the fire and sing together the world’s problems will go away. In fact, just the opposite. If you want to advance your cause, whatever it is you’re advocating for, I think you’re well-served by listening. You’ll be able to articulate your point much more effectively if you actually understand the counter-point, if you can anticipate their response. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone accomplish anything in an argument besides shutting it down by declaring the other side to be reprehensible.
I don’t particularly care what your politics are. I like having discussions within my social circle about religion, politics, race, and so on. While they may not be considered polite dinner table conversation to some (and fair enough, I’m unlikely to bring them up with a client at work), they represent the fabric of our society. Why would I want to limit my perspective on such crucial topics to just my own?
You can be as far left or as far right as you please, and I think we can get along just fine, and have great discussions about topics that are supposed to be taboo, but only if we’re willing to have those discussions in an honest way.
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