We owe to society. We need to pay it back. Now.

Many grew up with parents that guided and nurtured them, teaching them how to act or what to do in different situations. However, one parent is often overlooked: society. Although it is not a parent in the traditional sense, it definitely plays a massive role in everyone’s upbringing whether for better or for worse. This is largely in part of just how often we interact with those around us. Humans are social creatures, which is why those in solitary confinement are at risk for so many severe adverse psychological effects. Thus, interaction with society is bound to be an irreplaceable and [insert another word that starts with ir- to make it sound fancy] part of our lives. Take homeschooled children for example. Oftentimes it is difficult for them to truly learn important social skills due to the nature of being homeschooled. No matter how supportive their parents are or how many homeschool support groups they may attend, the reality is that these cannot replace the interactions that others just get more of, putting them at a massive disadvantage. All of this goes to show how much of an impact society can have on us, especially during one’s formative years.

So given how much society impacts us and shapes us into who we will become, if we had to owe society one thing, it would be our best effort to keep an open mind.

In the status quo, the lack of open mindedness has become a massive issue right now, fueled by political polarization pitting members of society against each other. The mindset ‘you are either on my side or you are stupid, unrealistic, and ignorant’ that this polarization promotes heavily damages how we see each other as members of society, leading to us pushing each other back instead of striving forwards. The idea that ‘I am superior because I am part of this group’ is exactly the same mindset that led to major problems like racism that are unfortunately still prevalent today.

A strong, united society is one that will be able to easily advance in quality of life or innovation due to the stability it is able to provide. A divided one is one where instead of improving, deteriorates, leading to instability, chaos, and an overall inability to truly move forwards: every step forward sees two, three, or even four steps back. The battle for who is right and who is wrong, and which color, blue or red, is superior is not helping at all. We can justify it as the normal workings of democracy all we want, but the truth is that whenever anything is pushed to the extreme, no matter how good the original idea might be, the result will never be beneficial.

Part of keeping an open mind is that we do our best to understand that it is normal for new ideologies, thoughts, and opinions to take root in society. In fact, the creation of new ideas is an important part of a functioning society. Things such as LGBTQ+ pride or countless other ‘modern’ concepts (or more accurately, have more recently been brought to our attention) have been met with lots of opposition. And that is inevitable. But the problem with that is not that there exists opposition, but that some who oppose it seek to suppress the emerging movement through violence, fearmongering, or a blatant disrespect for its members. Those who violently oppose these ideas hide behind the notion that their actions are necessary to keep others safe from the movement’s ‘parasitical nature’ when in fact, it is their actions that carry the most potential to harm.

To make things worse, the people that get stuck in the crossheirs of these conflicts are the new generations, who are only just going through the years where they get influenced the most by their family or by others around them. They are the most vulnerable out of everyone. Whether it is the poisonous political conflict within the family they have to stay witness to or the lack of support they end up receiving due to this, they are certainly never the winners of these societal battles. A testament to this fact is the uncountable number of children who do not experience the traditional idea of attraction, or heteronormativity, that many have come to expect. While some are lucky to have supportive people around them, others are not and end up forced to navigate these societal pressures that even adults find difficult, alone. And that shouldn’t be happening. While they obviously need to face difficulty to learn life skills, it shouldn’t mean chucking them into the pit of harsh realities and expecting them to fare well when even much more experienced individuals find it difficult to climb out.

Growing up, younger generations should feel supported and able to express themselves, not learn to hide behind a facade they build in order to conform to the dangerous world we force upon them. Society is the overlooked parent, and since every member of society is, to some extent, responsible for the way it turns out, it follows that everyone should put a good effort into giving back to it by keeping an open mind.

Keep an open mind. It helps society advance and helps the generations after ours.