“…what is gonna happen to us on Monday? When we’re all together again? I mean I consider you guys my friends, I’m not wrong, am I?”

This is the second part to my two part series about understanding the opinions of others. Click here to see the first part.

By the climax of the Breakfast Club, Brian asks the insightful question which no one else wants to ask: what happens next? The same question goes for my previous post about “The Close-Minded Conundrum.” I ask myself what’s next, after noticing that others have a different opinion than myself. How can we as people work to break down the hard walls of ‘we’ and ‘they’ in society? If only there was an easy answer where we could all compromise. Well, I hate to break it to you, but no easy answer exists. Breaking down the ideological barriers of society takes significant effort, which makes sense considering it hasn't been done and probably won’t. The effort which goes into compromise and understanding is far from futile though, it contains significant benefits.

Let’s first examine what happens in hyperbolic world of the Breakfast Club and see what comes out of the character’s forced stay with each other. Once again it serves as an example of how a group ideologically and socially different realizes their commonalities. The vehicle through which they reach understanding is simply being stuck in a room for a day with no plans and no distractions. The primary statement of the Breakfast Club encourages truly hearing stories from other’s perspective with Brian’s struggle with depression and Bender’s troubles at home as two primary examples. Though the group spends time bonding and each individual realizes their intrinsic similarities, everyone still doesn't know how to respond to Brian’s question about the future of their relationship. Ultimately, though they all recognize that each individual will slide back into their routine as soon as the school week rolls around again. This means that all their talking and overcoming of stereotypes essentially goes away once “real” life starts up again.

Alright, I've spent a while talking about how wonderfully the Breakfast Club exemplifies what it means to appreciate the opinions of others, but it all boils down to nothing, even in the idealized movie. What difference does it make? Why should I go through all the effort of understanding a portion of the innumerable opinions floating around the world?

What’s it all for?

Well that’s a really good question and the answer is hard to place a quantifiable answer on, but there are two major reasons I can think of right off the bat:

1. You might learn something

2. You can facilitate compromise

I know it’s hard to believe, and you might think that you can’t learn anything from someone who disagrees with your opinion, but a huge part of learning lies in actually listening to arguments and discussions on your topic of choice. To bring back an example from part one, the argument around bacon has a lot of ground on both sides, sure bacon tastes great and offers a source of protein, but it’s also full of fat and has way more than it’s fair share of sodium. If we saw only one side of the story, a distorted view of the picture gets presented. This is the exact same reason scientific research waits for multiple corroborating sources to even begin with the process of confirming an initial theory. It’s quite easy to unintentionally gain a distorted view of your beliefs if you never allow them to be challenged. Thus, simply taking the time to carry on a discussion serves to both inform you and works to increase your understanding.

With a bunch of learning and understanding flowing around, the next (and hardest) outcome happens next: the compromise. This term gets thrown around a lot whether in relationship advice or in political negotiations, but honestly doesn't get used enough. It’s true though that compromise is difficult, especially in complex policy with entire elections hanging in the balance. With that said though, after taking the time to sit down and listen to the entire picture, to hear the pros, cons, and everything in between, a compromise becomes much more feasible and realistic. When you understand both sides, it’s much easier to anticipate the desires of all parties involved. On a more relatable level, this concept applies to working in groups, a dreaded idea for many individuals who end up completing much of the work in a group setting. By taking some time to get everyone’s point of view and consider it, each individual in the group is both more likely to be vested in the project and compromise their ideas for what the final product should be to make for a finished project which suits everyone’s wants.

Even though placing people in a nice and neat box relating to their most basic parts makes for a simple life, a whole opportunity for much deeper understanding and accomplishment opens when a little appreciation occurs. While this surely doesn't solve all of our problems, it definitely takes a step in the direction of a more educated and balanced society without all of the yelling from opposite ends of the table.

Hi, I’m Garret Meier, I like writing about a bunch of different subjects, and you can contact me through Twitter (@headin_thecloud) or Instagram (@headin_thecloud). Feel free to comment and share!