Not long ago I was talking to a friend of mine who is not very politically inclined but generally thinks himself a Democrat. I mentioned the topic of affirmative action, which he had not previously heard of. After giving him a brief explanation of it, he opined that it seemed to be a terrible policy. I asked him what party he’d think supports it and he immediately responded “Republican.” In his opinion, affirmative action was bad, and therefore it must be a policy of the right. I then told him that affirmative action is purely a Democrat policy; he didn’t believe me. 

Yes, affirmative action is just one small part of politics—and this is just one particular anecdote—but this instance represents a much greater issue in Shorewood: political blindness. As a person who is rather politically moderate, I find that I can see and understand both sides’ points of views and opinions, but perhaps more importantly I am able to see why Shorewood’s one-sided political culture is not beneficial for anyone. 

Shorewood, specifically its schools, has solid racial and socioeconomic diversity, which is very good. But unfortunately, we deeply lack political and intellectual diversity, whose importances seem to have been forgotten. 

Because of this lack of diversity, students in Shorewood grow up with ideas unopposed, which is only detrimental to a growing mind. They grow up learning and observing one side, but never the other. They live in a place where the most radical left ideas are embraced, but even just moderate right ideas are ignored and hated. 

The absence of the voicing of controversial or unpopular-in-Shorewood beliefs helps no one and affects different people in various negative ways. For some, the lack of opposing opinions simply leads to uninformed blindness, like in my friend’s case. For others, it creates an unsafe space to voice their own opinions and beliefs. 

This lack of differing opinions, especially lack of voiced ones, designs a culture that is intolerant of said opinions. This, in turn, further discourages unpopular opinions, making them even less common, which continues over and over again in an unfortunate cycle.  

And even when unpopular ideas are observed in Shorewood, they are typically seen or heard in a biased, negative way, which only worsens the blindness of Shorewood students. 

Sure, there are plenty of Shorewood students who know much about politics and because of that are firmly liberal. But many, if not the majority, of students here who are liberal are liberal purely because everyone else is, not because they see the merit in the ideas on the left.

I like and respect many people with various different political viewpoints but what I don’t respect is when one holds a viewpoint and enforces it by criticizing others who don’t hold that same opinion. What I respect even less is when that critic is someone who holds their opinion not because they truly understand and believe what they say they stand for, but because they are just mindlessly agreeing with everyone else. Unfortunately, the latter is what is commonplace in Shorewood. 

Given that I’ve gone to Shorewood schools all my life, I cannot even imagine what it would be like to live in a place with a more even political split, with little hatred or anger to any one side. I’d imagine that it is not only a more politically pleasant place, but it has a more constructive and positive-to-all climate. 

I acknowledge that this is impossible in Shorewood’s near future, but it is a goal that could most definitely be worked toward, bettering the lives of all students, teachers and the Shorewood community as a whole.