Can we turn down the volume for a minute?

The constant yelling back and forth is making us all go deaf — deaf to anything that doesn't align with our own opinion, deaf to all the nuance that exists around the many social issues dividing our country, the county and even our families.

Rarely are things as simple as black and white. Mask or no mask. Vaccine or no vaccine.

But right now, it's easy to retreat to our own corners and yell at the other side, especially since there's often some real, physical distance involved amid fear of catching COVID-19. If we choose not to interact with someone of the “other side,” we might be able to avoid it now.

Care, compassion and any empathy at all seem lost in the noise. And well, there's no chance at resolving anything when we're always spouting off at the mouth and not taking time to listen.

Mars Area School District Superintendent Mark Gross put it well at the Wednesday meeting: “I've had Zoom meetings, I've had in-person meetings, and I've had phone conversations, and I can tell you this emphatically: There is power in listening, and there's extreme power in communication.”

Local school districts pretty well have their hands tied by state mandates at this time when it relates to masking and other COVID-19 related policies.

The yelling that happens at the local school board meetings — every one of them it seems — doesn't push toward a solution.

The only thing it pushes is the divide between the “two sides” further and further apart.

And the fact that it happens on a stage set right in front of young eyes, well, that's the icing on the not so scrumptious cake.

There's this sort of sugar high that comes with the divide. When we stay in our own corner and listen only to those who agree with us, we feel supported and encouraged in our own opinion. It's easy.

What's harder is leaving your corner. What's harder is listening to someone else's opinion and concerns, hearing how and why someone else feels the way they feel about an issue.

If you're busy thinking of how you'll reply, you're not listening. If you're ready with a rebuttal, you're not listening.

Maybe no one wants to hear this. We want this to be over, but to get there, we need to put in the work.

Don't take the easy way out. Turn down your own volume and try listening.

— TAL