By: Veronica Kogan

The first word that sprung to mind when reading this prompt was the same one I have been mulling over since quarantine began many months ago: division. Since people have had a lot more time on their hands to mull over political and social issues, division over issues has escalated tenfold to violent civilian eruptions. It’s gotten to the point that civil war does not sound as crazy to me as it would two years ago when the world hadn’t started walking on the ceiling yet. People have become quicker to stereotype and dehumanize an “other sider” than an accuser at a Salem witch trial, ignoring the sermons they themselves preach about peaceful discussions and listening to others’ perspectives. Take, for example, online cancel culture. People spend hours on the web aiming their keyboard guns at whoever appears to be on the “other side.” During this age of believing any out-of-context clip you see on an Instagram story, people gobble up baseless claims and happily watch as innocent people’s careers crumble. So much for caring about everyone’s perspective. 

So, what’s my dream for the world? I don’t think everyone should join together in singing koombayas around a tree, but I don’t think learning to put logic over emotion and listening to other’s points of view –not to argue, but to understand–should be too much to ask. Instead of listening to TikTok to study economic perspectives, listen to lectures of various economic experts. Instead of trusting Instagram slides about a controversial event as contextualized and valid, look into multiple sources. The bottom line is: if you give enough power to a single source, you give it the power to control you. And that Orwellian kind of world is not somewhere I want to live. 

Echo Literary Magazine has migrated this year to the Oracle. Students may submit their creative writing, poetry, plays, videos, photos and art to us at nsecholitmag@gmail.com.