Why We Might Agree
Imagine 2 cars of Michigan State students traveling home to Florida for the summer. They are all close friends and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company, but there’s a difference — half of them are going to Orlando, and the other half to Tampa. They are faced with a choice: Should they make the trip together, or separate? The answer seems obvious. Together, they can rotate riders and drivers, share meal costs, and even hotel costs, if they break for a night. Together, they can deepen their bond through the inevitable good memories and laughs they’ll develop along the away. Together is the obvious answer. However, it is not the only answer. Instead of taking advantage of the 1,150 miles of trip they have in common, they could choose to focus on the 50 miles of difference. They could allow their minds to magnify the significance of that difference and choose to make the trip separately. What a loss that would be!
American views on religion, race, and politics are like this trip. There are significant differences of opinion among us. However, when viewed from the perspective of the overall trip of human thought — past and present — what the majority of Americans agree on is far more significant than our differences. There is sharp disagreement on whether one’s religion should permit an individual to choose to whom he will and will not provide services. However, the majority of Americans strongly agree that one’s religion or lack thereof should cause them to be neither endeared nor endangered before the government. There is sharp disagreement as to how close we are to racial equality in this country and what, if anything, should be done to bring us closer. However, the majority of Americans strongly agree that one’s race should not determine one’s success or failure in this nation. There are sharp disagreements over the role of government, over economic and foreign policy. However, the majority of Americans strongly agree that government should be transparent and reflective of the will of its people.
The areas of agreement I’ve highlighted may initially seem trivial. However, there have been and presently are significant portions of the world’s population that would strongly disagree with these statements. If we consider our American disagreements in this broader context, the 50 miles, while maintaining their significance, can lose at least some of their divisiveness. This broader context can allow us to see each other, not only as left vs right, conservative vs liberal, democrat vs republican, but as fellow Americans who unitedly reject many of the world’s most popular and most entrenched philosophies of government.
In this publication, we hope to reframe some of today’s most divisive issues in the context of the 1,150 miles where the majority of Americans agree. This is not an attempt to trivialize our valid disagreements. Rather, we hope to highlight relevant, widely-accepted principles that are often overlooked as each ‘side’ contends with the other(s) for preeminence. We believe our valid disagreements can be best communicated and most effectively debated within the context of our shared values. To this end we write.
