The word binary is most often used with computers and the fact that they only use 1’s and 0’s. A lamp is a binary device. It can only be on or off. There is no in-between state. Unfortunately, we seem to be applying the idea of binary to our political system; i.e. you are either a conservative or liberal. If you take that approach, it means you have nothing in common with someone with another viewpoint. That can’t be true. In fact, it doesn’t even make any sense. Don’t we want to be happy? Don’t we want to enjoy our families? Do we all have a favorite day be it a warm sunny summer afternoon or a winter afternoon playing in the snow? There are hundreds of other things we all share regardless of our political viewpoint. How did we arrive at this idea of our political system being a binary one?
My impression is there are two strong reasons. The first is a political one. If you paint the other side as dangerous and having nothing in common with you, you are promoting a binary point of view and getting votes for your side. The second reason is a commercial one. In the past, it was to sell newspapers, but today it is video whether on commercial TV or on online services. Here is an extreme example. If you paint others of an opposite political viewpoint as so dangerous they will destroy everything you and your family cherishes, you will want to learn more to protect yourself and keep watching.
What can we do to change the binary view of the world? We can start by using the example of our own family. Let’s start looking at your spouse. We shared a great deal with them, but there are things they enjoy we do not. For example, my wife enjoys doing counted cross stitch and I enjoy ham radio. Very different hobbies, but we don’t label each other in a binary way just because of that fact. There are literally hundreds of examples I can think of in differences between myself and my wife and I’m sure can see the same is true of your spouse. Think of your children. As they explore the world, they get into things you don’t understand and in some cases like popular music might not like at all. However, you share much with them beyond your genes and you try to understand and love them. We need to resist the forces that are pushing this binary view of the world and treat those with different political views with the same consideration we give our family members.
