Let Us Set Aside Our Differences About The Approaching Swarm of Bees and Come Together as a Nation

It seems like America is more divided than ever, and the recent reports about a beehive falling to the ground and splitting open doesn't help. The news loves to sensationalize stories like this, but will rarely give us both sides of the story. You hear so much about how being stung dozens of times is a bad thing, but you rarely, if ever, hear the other perspective. The media always gives a mouthpiece to those saying "Run away!" and "Jump in the pond to get away from them," but why won't the media let those saying "Those aren't the stinging kind," and "Actually, getting stung by bees is good for you" to speak?

I don't want to just tell you about this bias, I want you to see it for yourself. Google "swarm of bees," and I can guarantee that 9 out of 10 headlines will be skewed against the dangerous insects. I'm all for freedom of the press, but it is also the press's responsibility to give the American public equal perspective to events that occur in the backyard of that abandoned house down the street. You often hear the phrase "there are two sides to every issue," and I think that's true of getting stung dozens of times all over your body. I'm not going to share my opinion about the buzzing cloud that is approaching us (if you want to discuss it more with me, feel free to send me a message), but I think it is important that everyone come to their own conclusions about their feelings towards removing dozens of stingers from their skin.

The media bias in this country, especially when it comes to bee attacks, directly effects the increase in partisanship that we are facing. In the end, though, we are all Americans, whether we think that we should run away from the swarm of bees, or whether we believe that we should run towards the swarm of bees. We still have the ability to find common ground, and that can be found in our shared curiosity of what would happen if we threw rocks at the massive hive on the back of that shed. If we allow these differences to overpower our similarities, then we are letting the old man yelling "Leave it alone!" to win.

Ending the divisiveness in this country doesn't start with the media, the government, or even the sign that warned us not to enter the backyard. It starts with you, and you can begin by listening to others, even (and especially) those that you disagree with. Next time someone tells you that they think there actually were still bees inside that hive, instead of immediately screaming about the bees that got in your shirt, keep listening to the other person's perspective. You'd be surprised, if you actually make the effort to listen, you may be able to hear the beginning of a relationship over the sound of terrified screams!