Can Civil Discourse Help Repair The Social Fabric?

The last few years have seen a growing social divide in the United States whether it be in the political arena or the social one. Political parties have been split on differences that have in turn been fueled by extremist stances and hardened beliefs. This divide has seen its way to the streets as several states across the country witnessed different protests preaching different causes. Whether it’s equal rights, statues, gun rights, and voting, protests have rocked the United States and some have evolved into all-out violent riots, looting, and raids. This is the main cause for concern that has people claiming that the social fabric in the United States is broken and that it needs fixing.

One way to fix it is through what many call civil discourse. Civil discourse is when opposing sides with opposing viewpoints get together to form a common ground of understanding, beliefs, and conflict resolution. Societies and civilizations do this so that they can grow out of the divide and come out from underneath the social rubble, a stronger and more unified community. That is how civil discourse lends its hands to ailing populations or societies and helps them re-establish themselves as the unified group they once were. But civil discourse is not as easy as it sounds. In fact, there lies a crucial element to civil discourse and that is act of being civil. You may be a person that is stuck to their social beliefs and opinion. You may find it hard to break your echo chamber. And that’s why you may also find it hard to have a civil discussion with an opposing mindset. The reason being that civil discourse requires not only patience and perseverance but sacrifice.Sacrifice of your most hardened beliefs if they prove to be detrimental to the greater good. It is only through this sacrifice that societies can survive and thrive and continue to be stronger. You can have a healthy civil discourse by sharing your anonymous stories at platforms like The Doe.

It isn’t easy to ask someone to give up on their beliefs, or even let go of them so that they reach a resolution of some sort. But if you are a person and you struggle to break your echo chamber then you may want to go through a self-actualization process of some sort. Ask yourself what matters most to you? You can live in a society where you may not have everything you want, but you’re living in a safe, calm, co-existing community. Or you can live in a community where the laws and norms are catered to your liking, but a sense of tension, hatred, and envy ensues within that community.

At the end of the day, the reality of the situation is you can’t make everyone happy. Which is why you need civil discourse and make sure that every person is at least happy with one thing. That is the best for a population or society to exist together, under one roof, and one understanding, that no one opinion is greater than the other.

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