Across The Aisle: Politics At 30,000 Feet

Airline seats. The new, unlikely home of political debate.

Traveling can be stressful to a degree. Trying to efficiently pack the night before, triple-checking that all appliances are off before dashing to the airport through traffic the next morning and then waiting in a line of people emptying their pockets to be scanned lies in between travelers and their purchased seats. It makes sense then that the first thing done after stowing away luggage in the overhead compartments is to sit down, exhale and recline worry-free without the agitation to think about the destination. Sadly, that’s starting to become compromised by the act of conversation. There are certain hot-button topics many of us choose not to discuss in public with strangers due to the firm stances near to our hearts. Ones, in fact, some avoid altogether in the tight quarters of an airplane cabin arrowing through the sky. Politics, now more than ever, is at the top of that list. 

The sky, the great escape.

Heated discussions on the state of affairs and those governing this country are omnipresent with the sides reversed since the initial results of the 2020 Presidential Election and subsequent recount that delayed the inevitable. Online and in-person, these conversations become debates where class, race, sex, religion, history, orientation and other categories are brought up in defense of that respective side to utterly devalue the opposing view. This rhetorical back-and-forth can be exhaustive for anyone who just wants a break from life on the ground and to merely watch the clouds go by. Though putting on headphones and raising the volume appears to be the easy answer to shutting out the unwanted fodder, the physical space between passengers has also become a forum for political opinion.  

The unforeseeable fatal spread of COVID-19 has forced many to alter how they live, work and play with social distancing precautions in effect. Airlines and public safety officials have made strict guidelines about wearing a proactive mask during flights, but there will always be one person who openly shuns this insurance of safety and has the rights memorized, ready to cite on cue, to defend their point. The first quick sketch that comes to mind of this individual mirrors the vast amount of angry, white male insurrectionists who made The US Capitol Building their own clubhouse on January 6th who are being tracked down for their actions by the FBI. That would not be entirely true. 

You may know your assigned seat, but you never know who you’ll meet.

Race has never been the lone determining factor in who a voter chooses. Self-interest has always been the prime decider in elections whether it be socially, ethically, spiritually or economically. Not every person of color is a ‘Black Lives Matter’-supporting Democratic. Not every white person is a Republican out trying to ‘Make America Great Again’. Both political influencer Candace Owens and social educator Jane Elliott have shown us that fact by the viewpoints they present. Appearances are for the eye and serve as focal points for the misconceptions we idly affirm to fueling the thoughts in our heads. This reminds us that views are opinions stated by people who hold no real office of authority or high ranking seat to sign policy into law. The oxygen devoted to trying to get a person with a different political agenda to wholeheartedly agree with a stance is wasteful in exercise due to the opaque, ideological echo chambers they consume on all platforms. Please always defend your stance and yourself no matter where you are when confronted. However, we’re asking you to think before you engage in what can be only described as a cyclical argument that, even if won with stone-cold facts, can be trolled in-person repeatedly done to agitate and change your mood with baseless claims and zero logic. 

This is a vacation. A momentary break from the same-old, same-old flooding our timelines and leading the discussions had with our friends and family to unwind from the grind. We all may be going to the same destination once airborne, but will be heading to our own spaces once the airplane pulls into the gate. Lugging that mental excess baggage from the flight to where we’re going hinders us from enjoying the complete escape we all need--no matter what side of the aisle we sit.