I came across this photograph earlier, and it made me reflect on some things. I challenge you now to name this edifice. Hint: it’s a famous neoclassical monument in Europe and you have probably seen pictures of it before.
This structure is known for its more prominent side. It is the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, built by orders from Prussian king Frederick William II. If you didn’t recognize it from the photo above, you are not alone.
America has become so divided, I fear, that we have become incapable of seeing the other side, whether it be on politics, movies, or personal matters. We cling so strongly to the one side we are familiar with that we convince ourselves that the other angle is wrong, evil, fake, etc. You get the picture.
Issues in our nation have always been multi-faceted, and it is this fact that has propelled us to heights so great they once took us to the moon.
Extreme polarization, as it now exists, is antithetical to American values. We have not always agreed to the best course of action, but we worked together for the betterment of our society. Unity brought us our greatest achievements. Division dealt our most humiliating defeats.
If you look at the photograph above for long enough, you begin to see its beauty. With photographs, we can only see one side at a time. With the issues that surround us and the possible solutions, we need to look around and see all aspects.
The race debate has predictably devolved into a figurative (and literal) black versus white argument meant to divide us further. How can we hope to solve the issues that rage so fervently when we can only view one side? What happened to nuance? The world exists in shades of gray, not always black and white.
I believe that the Black Lives Matter movement is a natural and important reaction to excessive police brutality. To shine a light on things we are uncomfortable viewing is a visceral human reaction, but it fails to solve phobias and divisions.
My father once showed me an experiment he devised that forever haunted my most horrid nightmares in hopes that I would overcome an irrational fear that consumed me. It didn’t work immediately, but for some reason I no longer suffer from that phobia. It was uncomfortable to look at, but it did reveal a truth I had not previously seen.
No one-size-fits-all idea solves our most pressing problems, but we see our leaders trying to show everything through a purposely narrow lens. We are not seeing both sides of it. Some want to believe the police are bad while others insist that Black Lives Matter is bad. Both, however, are necessary. Defunding the police is not a workable solution to the problem of brutality against people of color. If anything, police departments need more funding for training and diversity-focused initiatives. Not all police are corrupt, but none should be. Our fine public servants deserve our respect, but must face the same accountability we expect of our leaders.
Many people blame the media for this division. As I said in a previous blog post, there is no such thing as unbiased media. The media has the unenviable job of reporting on news.
Is some news being overlooked for the more-salient stories unfolding around us? As has always been the case, absolutely yes. Not all news can fit in any one publication. The best recourse is to use multiple sources. Don’t take photographs and reporting at face-value on any of it, because those inherent biases are always going to leave out part of the story, part of the problem, and part of the solution. Vigilance is key. The news isn’t fake; the leaders that try to convince us otherwise are.
My twelfth novel, due for release in August, subtly hints at the concept of this post. Its cover depicts the interior of a lavish estate. When you flip to the back cover, you get to see the exterior—the not so prominently displayed other side, which reveals better texture and nuance to the whole.
Writer and actor Val Uchendu opined that “Wisdom is the thin conduit between two opposing viewpoints.”
This advice can be applied to all topics from large to small. If we refuse to view one side and instead focus all our attention on the aspect with which we feel comfortable, we fail to acknowledge solutions and reach compromise. We fail ourselves, and indeed, our nation.
We call ourselves the United States of America. Remove any one word of our nation’s name, and the concept at its heart will be lost.