A YouTube channel by the name Jubilee is breaking the boundaries on political and divisive conversations with their series “Middle Ground.”
Middle Ground consists of topical conversations wherein people are usually extremely divided (such as political stance or gun control); but rather than receiving easy views by causing the conversations to go awry and become heated arguments rather than discussions, the people at Jubilee ask questions that allow both sides to learn more about each other and understand why that person believes the opposite of what they believe.
One episode that was particularly effective was the Liberal and Conservatives discussion, which allowed the two spectrums of American politics to talk about their difference, while simultaneously realizing the morals and beliefs they hold in common.
One question in particular that I think resonates especially with the recent rise of social media was when the participants were asked to agree or disagree with the statement: “I think people of the opposite party are misinformed or don’t know better.”
Consequently, this question opened up a lot of discussions that makes you realize that a lot of the misinformation and fake news spread does paint the other parties as an “enemy,” rather than just as someone with differing opinions. Often both groups are wrongly represented by the extreme sides of both parties, thus, to demonize all conservatives or all liberals by the extremists and group them into those beliefs is extremely reductive.
From abortion to Trump, this series tackles so many contemporary issues.
These issues range from political to societal to just dietary decisions, which is so important in our society, when you consider that the reason for our divisive society comes from the fact that we don’t take the time to comprehend why the other side believes what they believe. We don’t take the time to entertain opposing views, since we’re so passionate about our own, and, as stated before, with so much misinformation on both sides, its easier to just view people on the opposite side as “enemies” or “uneducated.”
However, Middle Ground opens your mind up to the notion that those “enemies” on the other side are people with morals, values and beliefs that may or may not coincide with yours, but we should still take time to understand them.
Although it seems like it should be an innate instinct to want to fathom why people may oppose one’s views, society has derived into these divided groups that prefer to stay in their own bubbles of information, rather than popping that bubble and breaching out to better understand society as a whole.
In conclusion, this isn’t the only series on Jubilee that is both thought-provoking and crosses boundaries — their whole channel is filled with captivating, entertaining and endearing content that isn’t just fixated on politics. Here are a few of my favorite series from their channel: “Tea with Strangers,” “Seeking Secrets,” “Candid Confessions” and “Both Sides.”
