Nicole Tieman

Has everyone gone crazy, or is it just me?

Over the last several years, it’s become nearly impossible to discuss political issues without it spiraling into an argument or an uncomfortable silence that seems to linger long after the fact.

In 2020, the Pew Research Center released a study that found 45 percent of all U.S. adults acknowledge they have stopped talking about politics and elections with someone. Breaking it down by party affiliation, Pew noted that 60 percent of liberal Democrats “stopped talking politics with someone because of something they said” compared to 45 percent of conservative Republicans.

Sure, we can blame social media and how it lulls people into a false sense of anonymity and unaccountability. We can also blame the media for how it seems to grab a narrative and run with it, often ignoring several facets of complex issues. Honestly, there’s plenty of blame for why people can’t talk to each other anymore. I’d argue a main reason is opinion superiority complex.

We all have opinions. Some of them are formed through reason, research and thoughtful analysis of a topic. Others are adopted from people we admire or trust. Still, others are derived for no reason other than it’s trendy or “the right way” to think. This last one is dangerous because it omits responsibility while empowering people to lord their opinions over others as if they are facts.

The damage to personal relationships caused by opinion superiority complex is real. Everyone reading this has probably experienced it with more than one person in his or her life. Greater damage is occurring in public policy. Discussions about healthcare, economics, public safety and so many others are necessary for a well-functioning society. If we as Americans can’t have these discussions openly and without fear, are we still the Land of the Free?

Former Wisconsin congressman Jim Sensenbrenner was known during his tenure as the “King of Town Halls” because he held 100 yearly throughout his district. They were open to the public and a place where constituents could come and ask questions, air grievances, and discuss the issues they cared about. Sometimes they were contentious, but Sensenbrenner didn’t stop holding them because he believed in the power of civil, political discourse.

Those days are fleeting in the United States. Cancel culture has a grip on public discourse and continues to flourish online. It’s something we all must consider as a threat to the future of our nation. An opinion, no matter how “popular,” is still just an opinion. Suppressing others will only breed close-minded, narrow thinking. That’s the last thing the country needs as it faces record-high inflation, exploding crime rates, a failing education system and a looming energy crisis.

The more opinions we bring to a discussion, the more opportunity society has to make well-informed decisions on public policy and those who will lead it. We need more voices — not less — that can respectfully present opinions and back them up with facts.

A favorite quote in my home is from Disney’s “Big Hero 6”: think your way around the problem. Look for a new angle. If there was ever a time our country needed to find a new angle to solve problems, it’s now. How can we do that if we choose which opinions count and which ones don’t?

We are days away from an important Election Day, and opinion superiority complex is on full display. Yet, now is the time to open our minds and entertain the possibility of change. If we continue to close lines of communication, we’re all crazy because that’s a surefire way to lose our freedom, our democracy and our future.

Nicole Tieman is a strategic communicator in Wisconsin. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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