It seems that our world is becoming increasingly divided into left and right. It was fine when the issues that people identified with a particular ideology were strictly political (i.e. taxation, legal matters), but far too many issues are now being adopted by people on a partisan basis. This behaviour is not only stupid, it’s also dangerous.

A perfect example is the issue of Global Warming. Al Gore made a huge mistake by associating his name with that film. If he wanted to educate people on the dangers of Global Warming, he should have done so through private investment and consultation. By plastering his name and face all over that movie, and the issue of Global Warming itself, he immediately created a situation where people would attempt to discredit the information presented in the film, not because they disagreed with him scientifically, but because they disagreed with him politically. If Al Gore had made a film about the dangers of pedophilia (“An Inconvenient Tooth”?), the next day Rush Limbaugh would have been ranting something like the following on his radio show: “I can’t believe Al Gore doesn’t want our children prepared for their sexual future! Why, maybe if my uncle had shown me a little more ‘love’ I wouldn’t have grown up to be an OxyContin addict that makes fun of people with Parkinson’s disease.” Suddenly everyone who was right wing would be promoting the molestation of children, and Fox News would bring out expert after expert, certainly all members of N.A.M.B.L.A., promoting the benefits of man-boy love.

It’s an extreme example, but I think it demonstrates well the danger and stupidity associated with this behaviour, whether it be about Global Warming, Gay Marriage, or any of the other scores of issues that seem almost entirely divided on political lines. It’s very important that we determine whether or not our planet is heating up due to human activity, it could very well mean our extinction. It’s also worth realizing that if we AREN’T heating up the planet then putting unnecessary environmental restrictions in place could mean the loss of thousands of jobs and the waste of millions of dollars that could be spent on solutions for real problems. Either way, what certainly isn’t helping is the juvenile dialogue that is being spurred on and practically dictated by the pundits of the major news networks.

If you want to know what you can do to help, just follow this simple plan: Whenever you hear somebody expressing an opinion on an issue that you know they couldn’t possibly have done the research for themselves, ask them on what basis they are determining that to be the truth. They will certainly follow this up with a series of factoids and statistics, and then you simply question their sources. Where did they get this information from? They will quote a series of websites or publications, and then dismiss any attempt to argue with them by stating that either 99.9% of the world’s experts agree with them, or they will claim that any dissenting voices in opposition to the mainstream belief are crushed by special interests groups and not given the same media exposure.

Now, and this is the important part, you do not contradict them or argue with them. Simply inform them that their understanding of the issue has been formed through indoctrination, that they are not experts by any means, and that while you do not disagree with them you find it very strange the conviction with which they hold these beliefs when they have absolutely no direct verification of the knowledge they purport to be widely accepted, or conversely heavily suppressed. They don’t even have verification that it’s widely accepted or heavily suppressed, that also is something they have just been told and are now regurgitating. In the end, it does not matter what two random people think about any particular issue. It’s not likely that either of them will be moving on to actually do anything to help or solve the problem. What is far more important is ending the immature debates that are entirely constructed to keep us distracted, divided, and most importantly unaware of the very real things, the very horrible things, that those in power do every day to keep themselves and those they partner with in control.