I can tell you exactly why there is such division in the United States these days. It all started in the 1970’s when the Left began using the term “political correctness”.
Last night, I was using my Ninja Foodi multi-cooker as a slow cooker for the first time. It turns out that the slow cooker mode is exactly the same as the pressure cooker mode except that you leave the vent open so that the pressure doesn’t build.
As long as I leave the vent open, the steam is slowly released, the pressure can’t build, and the recipe works. But, if I close the vent, the pressure builds, and everything inside is destroyed.
One little change is the difference between a delicious stew and a culinary disaster.
I started thinking about that and how it applies to the United States.
The way it’s supposed to work in the United States is that the First Amendment guarantees our right to have a free exchange of ideas. People talk, they disagree, they debate the issues and both sides come away with a slightly different view than they had before. Like the vent on my multi-cooker, the constant exchange of ideas releases the pressure and averts disaster.
But, Liberals could have none of that because a free exchange of ideas is the enemy of the Left.
Since they couldn’t change the First Amendment, the Left started a culture where people are shamed for saying certain things. We were told that there were some things we couldn’t say because it might be considered offensive by some people. It started out with a word or two, then they started adding phrases and then it turned into not being able to talk about entire ideas or concepts.
Here’s the thing, not being able to say something doesn’t mean you stop believing it.
So, we ended up with a big bunch of people who believed one thing, and a different big bunch of people who believed something else, but they weren’t allowed to talk about their differences because someone, somewhere, just maybe, might be offended.
But that didn’t stop people from talking. They just started talking with people who would listen to what they had to say.
Instead of a healthy debate between adults, which would have released some of the pressure, there was a silent, bubbling, continuously growing disagreement. And the pressure increased.
Then things got worse.
Now we’ve got the “cancel culture” which is the “shaming culture” on steroids. People are even more reluctant to say what they believe because it could cost them their friends, family and even their livelihood. Any idea that doesn’t completely align with the Left’s agenda is quashed.
But even though you’re not allowed to talk about something, you still believe it.
We’re supposed to discuss our differences instead of hiding them. We’re supposed to take the best ideas from whatever source and combine them into a better America. But that’s not happening. Differing opinions are no longer allowed. While we still have the First Amendment, it has been rendered useless by making people too afraid to speak. And the pressure keeps building.
Introducing the concept of “political correctness” started us down this path. Regardless of its intent, what it did was hide our differences until they became too big for us to continue to pretend that they don’t exist. Somewhere over the last five decades, people lost the ability to debate issues. Now we have this huge division in the country, but we don’t have the one tool at our disposal that will solve the problem: the ability to be open and honest with each other.
Making one small change turns my Ninja Foodi into a pressure cooker. Eliminating our ability to freely, and without consequence, exchange ideas has done the same to the United States.
The recipe for a stronger America is missing one critical step. We need to start talking about our differences to reduce the pressure and, if possible, avert disaster. One little change is the difference between the success of our country, and a national disaster.
