Hello?!?! Can Anyone Hear Me?

I suppose politically, I lean a bit to the right. Okay...okay, I admit in most things I lean a lot to the right. But believe it or not, in a few things I bend a little tiny bit to the left. Despite my political leanings I would consider myself an open minded individual. By "open minded" I mean that I'm at least willing to listen and consider the opposing view. I try to wait to form my conclusions until I have considered both sides of an argument.

I think what bothers me these days is that it seems no one on either side is listening to each other. Both sides do a lot of talking, they obviously hear each other, but are they LISTENING? In my life experience, I have learned that wisdom and truth can be gleaned from both sides of an argument. So, why don’t we listen to each other?! It seems that we can’t be friends if we fall on the wrong side of “the aisle.” I find this notion ridiculous! If I disagree with someone on an issue, or candidate, does this mean we can’t be friends? Call me idealistic, but I feel that we are all more alike then different. We are daughters, sons, moms, dads, sisters, and brothers. As passionate as I feel about something, and how right I believe I am; frankly a person who has a differing opinion is just as passionate, and believes firmly that they are right. Isn't it worth something to find common ground with the opposition? Are we going to get anything solved by forming our retort, while the other side is making their case?

Here is my point: We need to see each other as fellow human beings first. We all have opinions, and each opinion is worth listening too, even if we can never change each other’s minds. At least consider the other person’s viewpoint, and entertain the thought that you may be wrong. Debate issues respectfully without being insulting. Isn’t that what we all deserve? Even if you disagree with me, I just want to be heard. Truly hearing each other, listening, and having respectful debates is really the only way we will ever be able to move our country forward. I’m sure we can all agree on that!