Finding A Middle Ground

I’ve just recently discovered this gem about healthy discussions and clashing opinions

Especially now in this time and age, I see a lot of fighting, hating, quarreling and more sinister stuff happening in the world about a wide range of topics.

Struggle for equality, veganism, racism, prejudice, feminism as well as more crazy things like people sending death threats to the developers of a video game because they strongly disliked the story writing of it.

Constructive criticism is good. It’s something we all can learn from. But once that constructive criticism turns into destructive hate, we’re gonna have a problem.

Maybe witnessing all this over the past couple of months is the main reason why I value so highly what I recently discovered (though it is everything but new).

But I really enjoyed seeing discussions taking place that at least try to listen to the other side. It’s a quality that many people still need to learn if they ever want to share their opinion in a mature manner.

And one more thing: I’m in no way affiliated with the group/organization that I want to introduce here. It’s just something I discovered quite randomly over the Youtube suggestions and that I am impressed with, as I think it’s a great and high-quality format.

Jubilee / middle ground

With over 5 million subs, the Youtube channel Jubilee might be nothing new to you. Most of you probably have already seen their videos. But I didn’t until about 3 or 4 days ago.

That’s when I discovered their videos labeled “middle ground”. They invite various opposing groups of people to partake in a discussion. And they have so far invited a lot of people for different topics, all of which are common issues in our modern society.

Here are some of their episodes that I’ve personally seen so far:

They invited flat earthers and scientists to discuss the shape of our earth and their opinions on it.

Vegans and meat-eaters share their decisions and opposing beliefs about veganism and the killing of animals.

Cops and ex-felons talk about their perspective on the justice system in the US with interesting points to be made on both sides.

War veterans and peace activists meet to discuss the necessity of war.

Pro-Gun vs. anti-gun advocates delivered another interesting debate, which is quite popular on social media on a daily basis.

A discussion between socialists and capitalists was of the more heated debates but still remained civil. I came to learn that one of the participants who represented the socialist side, the older guy named Mimi, died recently due to liver cancer. My condolences. It’s a loss regardless of our opinion on the matter at hand.

The bloods and crips are probably the most infamous street gangs in the world and constantly at war with each other. Seeing bloods and crips come together in a discussion round was among the most interesting things I’ve seen so far.

Lastly, “Pro-Vaccine vs Anti-Vaccine”, which put parents and doctors in a debate about whether or not kids should get vaccinated.

All these topics are things that I myself do have an opinion on. And I’m sure you all do too. But in most cases, discussing these topics quickly turns vile. Instead of leading a healthy discussion, people tend to insult each other, ridicule the opposition and thus only drive the wedge deeper that splits us apart.

Even the people who take part in these discussions above sometimes appear to be very emotional about the discussion and work hard to contain their contempt. It’s only natural. But they all signed up for it and knew what they’d get into. And I’m really happy to see how civilized each individual handled the situation. I’m speaking for both sides of each discussion here.

I hope that this format helps at least some people in looking at things a bit differently.

You never need to agree with anyone. But you owe everyone a basic form of respect. And you are entitled to the same amount of respect you give.

Finding a middle ground is a start.

I’m not a huge Youtube fan and I don’t gain anything from promoting Jubilee in this post. But I was pleasantly surprised at their videos and do enjoy following these discussions. I hope you do too. I’ll keep watching more of them.

If you made it all the way down here, then thank you so much for reading and showing interest. I really appreciate it, especially since this article has a poor structure compared to my usual writing.

I just wanted to share this and hope that others will enjoy watching these discussions. We could all learn from it. If you are a writer, then maybe one of their videos may also spark your next story.