If you only pay attention to one side of our current politics, every issue would appear non-controversial. You would get the impression that your side is obviously right, and that the other side is either stupid, corrupt, or motivated by something objectionable, like racism or greed.

In reality, every political issue is much more nuanced. However, acknowledging this does not help politicians or the media, who directly benefit from provoking outrage at the opposition.

Politicians, concerned with their own incumbency, often resort to pandering to their base by demonizing their opponents. If you listen to Republicans on tax policy, you will hear that Democrats are greedy, lazy and want to take more money from hardworking Americans. If you listen to Democrats, you will be told that Republicans only care about protecting their wealthy donors and have no regard for the lower class. These two contrasting attacks share three commonalities: They are completely unnuanced, factually incorrect and are regularly used by politicians and the media.

When politicians can provoke outrage at the opposing party, their constituents become energized to support them. This means that, instead of engaging in respectful, productive dialogue focused on the most pressing issues of our time, politicians embrace the 24-hour news cycle to spin hot-button issues for personal gain. They prioritize grandstanding and soundbite-making to boost their current popularity over productive policy making. A perfect example of this sort of behavior was Senator Cory Booker’s grandstanding during the SCOTUS confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, in which he repeatedly bragged about breaking the senate rules and went on to say, “this is the closest I’ll probably ever have in my life to an ‘I am Spartacus’ moment.”

The reason America has a representative democracy instead of a pure democracy in which citizens vote directly on every policy is so that our elected officials can engage in serious, nuanced conversation about critical issues in a manner that prioritizes truth and efficacy over political victory. However, our current elected officials are usually unwilling to tell the hard truths to their constituents. They won’t vote for policies which, while ultimately necessary and positive, carry short-term negative ramifications on their popularity.

The media amplifies this issue because of incentives that reward click-bait headlines and outrage provocation. News outlets know that a large portion of the American people are currently highly polarized and have a hostile view of the opposing party. Therefore, they reinforce the confirmation biases of one side by supplying them with a daily dose of outrage at their opponents. Outlets like Fox and Breitbart cater to the right and disparage the left, while CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times promote the left while pillorying the right. Journalists themselves become polarized and begin subtly advancing political agendas with their reporting. Outlets are disturbingly quick to report stories before the facts emerge to garner clicks, especially if the narrative aligns with their world view. Recent examples of this include the Covington Catholic High School fiasco and the supposed attack on Jussie Smollett.

As consumers of news media, American citizens like you and I have been guilty of furthering this issue. A study by Columbia University found that Twitter users are more willing to share a news article than to actually read it. Why take the time to actually read the article when the headline (apparently) confirms your sentiment towards a specific politician or issue to be justified? A rather comical example of this phenomenon is when Science Post shared an article under the headline Study: 70 percent of Facebook users only read the headline of science stories before commenting. The article contained only one brief paragraph and continued with a page of Lorem Ipsum. It was shared over 45,000 times on Facebook.

The solution to these issues is to recognize the presence of and actively search for nuance in current political issues. Let’s return to the example of tax policy: In reality, Democrats believe that higher taxes on the wealthy and big corporations will allow the funding of policies which help the less fortunate citizens of our country achieve the American dream. Republicans believe that minimizing the role of the Federal Government by decreasing taxes and keeping money invested in businesses that create products and jobs, rather than in the hands of the inefficient government, will keep incentives properly aligned in order to achieve continued economic prosperity. Obviously, this is only the base layer of the two positions on the issue, but it shows that there is good intent behind both ideas. This same exercise can be done with every major issue. The abortion argument, at its root, can be whittled down to when a fetus is considered to be a human, giving it the inalienable rights with which this status is accompanied. Instead, what you will hear is that Republicans don’t care about women and Democrats don’t care about babies. Because who needs nuance when you can claim the moral high ground to avoid an exchange of ideas?

America was founded on the free, dispassionate exchange of ideas. Thomas Jefferson said, “An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy.” Politicians and the news media must return to promulgating the nuances of the great issues of our time, and us — the citizenry — must disengage from outrage-centered political debate and strive for respectful, productive conversation. Disconnect from your preconceptions and predispositions. In the end, conversation is all we have. Protect it — don’t distort or abuse it.