Red vs. blue.

With recent political events, people have judged other people based on political views, creating a divide in the community.

Political disagreement has only grown worse and worse as time moves forward, along with that, a divide in not only communities and schools, but in America as a whole. In the school, the political divide has been developing and separating the community just as much as it has separated America. This affects us in many different ways and defines who we are as a school and a community.

“A divide is inevitable with all these opposing views, but it’s the exact opposite of what we need right now,” junior Anh Ho said. People have let their views and opinions on politics determine who they talk to, or who they want to interact with in the school. Someone may see one of their peers post some of their political views or beliefs on social media and create this image of them in their head because those opinions don’t line up with their own. This causes them to judge that person’s character and wouldn’t even give that person a chance if they meet in person because they think they already know who that person is. 

Controversial topics add to the division. “When it comes to controversial topics and dealing with politics people usually look at you in a different light,” junior Jenascia Hargrove said. This is part of the source of the divide, people creating images of other people with different political opinions and distancing themselves from them.

“I can kind of see and understand how people may distance themselves just based on personal things,” Hargrove said. Hargrove believes that when it comes to personal beliefs and opinions, it can be understandable that people would distance themselves from someone they know they would not want to be friends with or talk to, but when it comes to small political topics, people could look past that and meet people and try to understand where they are coming from. Looking past politics or sitting down and having a conversation with someone about their opinions to make each other understand where they are coming from could be a big step forward for the community.

Political disagreement has caused turmoil between the people in our community. “Division creates more problems and if we want to make our community better for everyone, we should be willing to listen and understand,” Ho said. This divide is a big issue that is overlooked in our community that causes negativity and disagreement where there could be more understanding. Political opinions have become concrete and people aren’t willing to change them, but if the community takes the step towards respecting and understanding our peers, it would create a better, more connected community.