My first trip to the United States of America has come at an interesting time, as the country faces a paradigm shift in its political and social landscape.
A week before my colleagues and I arrived to begin our fellowship, a mass shooting had taken away the lives of two children and injured dozens of others at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minn.
I was travelling to a country in mourning of a tragic event, while it also debated a long standing issue regarding guns and gun ownership. There was also strong debate on the identity of the shooter, a subject used to try to explain their motive. All these were heavily politicized issues that reflected the state of American society.
In the first week of our fellowship conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was killed and on the same day another mass shooting happened at Evergreen High School in Colorado.
All these tragic events have fueled heated discourse in American society over issues that have been heavily debated from small town councils to congress.
In our discussion with Professor Schultz, a political science and election law expert at Hamline University, he noted how the increased polarisation of American politics has changed over the years.
”We have found over time in public opinion polls, we have shifted from a bell-shaped curved society to a bimodal one,” he explained. ”The percentage of the population that decides itself as centrist or moderate has gone down dramatically.”
A healthy democracy is one in which tolerance and respect for other viewpoints breeds robust and healthy political discourse .
But the United States is now only united in name and not deed, as the country is faced with a wave of disinformation that further fuels the divide among different political factions and ideologies.
Social media has fuelled this in part. ” What makes money on these social media sites, the algorithms that get you kind of extremist rhetoric at this point,” Schultz said.
In my short stay, one thing that stands out is the lack of fences in most of the neighbourhoods I have seen. It is a huge culture shock when I compare it to my country where perimeter walls are the order of the day. Despite lacking these physical barriers, many American homes are apparently divided by the current state of politics they are in. In some cases, politics have even divided families and longstanding friends.
The lack of space for people agreeing to disagree without making it personal risks breeding and growing a negative, almost toxic culture in which people are reluctant to talk about issues affecting them.
When people lack the freedom to express themselves, they may act out of frustration, potentially leading to social and political instability.
It is important for the American people to learn from the history and experiences of other countries that have been where they find themselves today as well as their own history. As Professor Schultz said, the tragedy of political violence is that it actually works and that is why it keeps going on.
People in this country need to recognize what or who is dividing them, so they can prevent an implosion of a strong democracy – one that has been a source of inspiration and blueprint for other nations.
As I continue on my journey across the United States, I will be keen to hear the views and opinions of more Americans from different walks of life and share lessons from the similar challenges my own country that has faced similar challenges.
A healthy democracy is one of tolerance. The majority may have their way, but not at the expense of the minority, as government is of the people, by the people, for the people.
My main message to them will be that they can make America great again only by healing the rift among the various opposing sides and all parties working together for the greater good of the country, despite their different political ideologies.
