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If the current state of American discourse were to be captured in a single headline, “Teen driver yelling at anti-abortion protesters in Rockland crashes into one of their cars,” might do the trick.
As reported by the Courier-Gazette, a teenage girl lost control of her car on June 18 yelling at anti-abortion protestors in Rockland, who she apparently confused for anti-LGBTQ protestors. She crashed into a protester’s van.
The words “stay in your lane” come to mind.
We don’t generally like the concept of people having to stick to their “lanes” and only weigh in on certain topics. We’re all for lively debate and for young people making their voices heard. And we say all this as supporters of the LGBTQ community, reproductive rights and the right to peacefully protest.
But all of us, not just a teenager who made a damaging and potentially dangerous mistake, could stand to take more time to listen and assess situations before we launch in ready for a fight. We could all do better to focus on what’s in front of us.
As editorial writers, we often interview experts and officials who have spent their entire careers working in a particular field or on a particular issue. And then we have the chutzpah to offer criticism or suggest ways that things could be done differently. So we’re always weaving in and out of other people’s lanes. That’s our job. We try to do it with thought and care, taking our time to look around and review the facts.
In short, we try to look for potential blind spots.
It’s easy to jump to conclusions and become drive-by warriors fighting over cultural and political beliefs, especially online. Too often, it seems that many Americans are talking — or yelling — over each other. At the very least, if someone’s going to yell, they should know who they’re yelling at and what they’re yelling at them about. And they certainly shouldn’t put other people in physical danger to make their point.
We’re not even asking for civility here — we’re asking for basic situational awareness.
Listen, there’s nothing we’d like better to do around the Fourth of July than celebrate the best parts of America and things that unite us as a country. We’d love to spend time waxing poetic about the idea of America as a city on a hill.
But here’s the thing about our current national debate: if we’re a shining city on a hill, the lights are flickering. American discourse is not exactly making the ancient Athenians or Romans proud.
So much of our debates today involve assuming the worst in people and demonizing them. Opponents aren’t just wrong, they’re liars and horrible people. Indignation and outrage have their place, but they shouldn’t obscure the truth or distract us from responsibilities and realities right in front of us.
Hopefully the young driver in Rockland has learned from their mistake, and hopefully we all will do our best to avoid a pile-up of misplaced outrage.
