I could list more why not’s but in reality, you do matter, you do count. How eles do you think all this stuff you are against happens.
Spoiler alert, it doesn’t happen on it’s own. It happens because the people that do believe or want that agenda go out and work for it while you sit arong a complain and say “That’s not what I wanted”
So we will list five things that you can do that will make a difference.
Part 1 of “The Cost of Doing Nothing” “talking”
We’re living in an age where it’s easier than ever to surround yourself with agreement. Algorithms make sure your feed reflects your views. Friends and family know which topics to avoid. And the people who might challenge you? They’re just a swipe away from being unfollowed.
It’s peaceful. Comfortable.
And, frankly, lethal.
The truth is, our country isn’t broken because people disagree. It’s broken because people have stopped talking across the disagreement. We’ve traded in the messy, human business of dialogue for the false security of echo chambers — and in doing so, we’ve lost the ability to even understand each other, let alone work together.
Here is A Conversation That Went Sideways (But Was Worth It)
A while back, I sat down with an old friend — someone I’d shared beers and stories with back when politics were just background noise. But things changed. He took the MAGA route, full throttle. And I didn’t. Still, we met for coffee. Within 10 minutes, it was clear: we weren’t going to agree on much.
The election. The media. January 6. His tone got sharp. Mine probably did too. At one point he said something I thought was completely nuts — and I told him so. It could’ve ended right there.
But we kept going. I stopped trying to win. I started listening, asking questions. Not to catch him in contradictions — just to understand how he got there. And somewhere in that mess, something softened. Not agreement. But recognition.
We walked away still disagreeing. But we also walked away still friends. And now, oddly enough, he sends me articles — some ridiculous, but some thoughtful. And I send him a few back. We don’t always read them. But we send them. That matters.
Why This Matters
If we don’t start rebuilding the muscle of uncomfortable conversation, we’re going to keep drifting into camps that don’t see each other as human anymore.
And once that happens — once people stop being neighbors and become enemies — history tells us what comes next.
You don’t have to agree. You don’t have to convince anyone.
But you do have to be brave enough to talk.
That’s how democracy survives. Not in the yelling, but in the listening.
