This article was originally published in the Elections print issue of The Daily Utah Chronicle, originally in stands in November of 2024. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.
To say that our country is divided would be a gross understatement. To say that our country is experiencing a political divide threatening democracy and the betterment of our nation would be a debatable, yet possibly agreeable observation. Yet, to say that a moderate approach to politics may be the solution is a statement that elicits an uproar of hate from both sides of the political spectrum.
Political division has evolved into extremism. To combat our nation’s division, we must foster and encourage the identity of political moderates.
Misconceptions Surrounding Political Moderation
Due to growing up with a liberal mother and a conservative father, I was often asked about my political alignment. On one specific occasion, after my coworker posed the question, I explained that I’m moderate with a left lean. Immediately, my coworker became upset, as he had assumed that moderation meant I couldn’t “pick a side” on political issues.
He was so agitated by my response that he compared my beliefs to those of the three-fifths compromise, explaining that people like me were responsible for such a ruling.
The idea that moderation is just “riding the fence,” and manifests as an inability to form your own opinion is blatantly incorrect. As defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, moderation is “the quality of doing something within reasonable limits.”
Political moderation does not mean avoiding picking a side and silently letting atrocities pass you by because you are too afraid to speak out.
It means being responsible for how you act upon your beliefs.
The Principles of Moderation
In our polarized nation, we often see people shutting down a discussion just because of a surface-level label. In politics, those labels are red or blue, Republican or Democrat and liberal or conservative.
To be moderate means to listen to people regardless of this label. It is to understand that underneath this label, there is a person with a background that justifies their beliefs.
This doesn’t mean one cannot be outspoken about their ideas when demonstrating political moderation. As a moderate, I still attend protests, repost articles supporting what I believe and participate in heated discussions in my political science classes. What makes this moderate is the recognition of the humanity behind the belief system and holding respect for someone regardless of their affiliation, even when the discussion gets heated.
Moderation can mean stepping down from a discussion when it has evolved into an argument. While there is a want to educate others on your belief system, when anger is put into the interaction, a lack of listening is evident. So, to avoid escalation, it can be in your best interest to respectfully decline the continuation of the conversation.
The Importance of Moderation
In an interview regarding political division with Mateo Ralas, a student at the University of Utah, he said, “It just doesn’t feel like we can keep pushing this way. It’s not ethical, it’s not humane and it feels like at one point we’re going to turn around and see how messed up this two-party system is, and how divided it’s made us.”
Ralas is right. The division our country is seeing isn’t sustainable. As Abraham Lincoln once said, quoting from the Bible, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Furthermore, Ralas said, “You could easily dehumanize someone just because they don’t have the same opinion as you, when you could have so many other similarities, like the things you eat, the places you like and the people you talk to.”
Being politically moderate allows one to look past this label and see humanity within an individual.
More people must try to listen to others, recognize the humanity that each person holds and try to understand the root of people’s beliefs. Through this, we will combat the hate that continues to divide our country.
As the United States of America, it is essential that we can connect regardless of our differences. This connection doesn’t have to be a compromise of one’s beliefs, but instead a recognition that a difference in political labels doesn’t have to be a reason to dehumanize one another.
In practicing this mindset, we are participating in political moderation.
