Be the Number Three

Original Speech by João Couto

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Today, I am going to talk about political polarization. But first, I'd like to ask if any of you watch South Park? For those who don't, it’s an animated TV show like The Simpsons, about the adventures of four 10-year-old kids but with adult humour and biting satire hidden behind absurd situations, tackling society, politics, and human nature.

There is this episode where the kids are voting for a new school mascot and because they don’t like their choices, they decide to create two joke candidates: Giant Douche and Turd Sandwich. The race intensifies, and every kid in school picks the funniest mascot out of the two. Except for Stan. Stan finds the whole situation ridiculous and decides not to vote. Because of this, he is kicked out of town for his un-American decision not to vote and ends up chased by Puff Daddy wielding a gun and singing “Vote or Die”. Stan goes to live in a hippie community until he chooses to come back to town and finally picks the funniest mascot.

But what can this politically incorrect episode teach us about the correct way to approach politics?

This absurd situation is a direct criticism of the American electoral system, in which voters are basically forced to choose the lesser of two evils. Although the episode was aired in 2004, there are no better examples of this situation than recent events. The results of Brexit and the 2016 United States presidential election show that people feel disenfranchised and seek change. That is not a bad thing. The problem is when someone takes advantage of those feelings and the polarized political climate to advance their nefarious agenda.

If we analyse the US election from an objective point of view, we can clearly say that both candidates were bad. Needless to say, one was clearly worse than the other. But Hillary Clinton had so many flaws that she was incapable to stop Donald Trump and his anti-establishment message. The political climate was so polarized that people were not voting for candidates but for the parties behind them. Many voters were resorting to voting for the candidate they disliked the least. They were choosing the lesser of two evils. They were choosing between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich.

This is the underlying message in the South Park episode. The criticism of a system that forces people into choosing between two candidates they don’t identify with. They can choose from a third party, but sadly, they are irrelevant in the American political system by design.

You're probably thinking to yourselves about how boring this might sound. But don't be fooled. This goes far beyond the realm of politics. Any important decision in your life requires you to have an open mind to new perspectives and information. I am not here to change your opinion. I am here to change your attitude towards forming opinions. It is pointless to change your individual decisions and opinions if your attitude remains the same.

The world is not left and right, black and white. It's composed of many shades of grey. Much more than 50. By dividing a problem into two solutions, you are reducing it into a binary choice. If you think you're right and your opinion is the morally superior one, then everyone who disagrees with you is wrong and evil. By bundling people you don’t agree with into a homogeneous group you will misrepresent them. By misrepresenting people and associating them with a negative opinion and bias you are creating polarization. No one likes to be told they’re basically Hitler or Stalin just because they have a different opinion. Polarization leads to antagonization. Antagonization leads to further polarization. It's an endless cycle.

You can't defend an argument effectively while disregarding everything the counterargument stands for. You should defend what you believe in, even if it is a binary argument, but don't tie yourself to an ideology and follow it blindly. Be open to changing your opinion when faced with new information. Don’t be afraid to defend two seemingly incompatible points of view. It is possible to defend one thing while recognizing some of its faults. It is possible to defend two things that don’t seem to be related.

You don't have to choose between a turd sandwich and a giant douche. You can pick a third party.

Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Past, Present, Future. Ethos, Pathos, Logos. Three is everywhere. There’s no escape. It just works.

The number three is nothing more than two plus one. But no one is always right and that is okay. As long as you have an open mind and are willing to change your opinion based on new information and different points of view, you can make a positive impact in the world. Instead of trying to fit into an ideological group, make your own ideology.

Beat the polarization. Be the odd one out. Be the number three.