I am quick to judge people with differing opinions. Some might say that I am a bad person because of this, but that conclusion about my character only reveals that the act of judgment is a natural part of human nature.
I recently discovered a YouTube channel called The Enemies Project, where the plan is essentially to bring together two people with wildly different views on important issues and discuss the topic. Throughout the video, the two people get to know each other not for their opinion, but for their character and who they are as human beings.
The first video I watched was discussing the topic of transgender people. As a trans person myself, this video was initially upsetting to me because of what the woman on the opposing side—Nancy—was saying. She believed that trans people were an “abomination” and that they needed to go somewhere to help them revert to their biological gender.
I am a human being filled with love and motivation, just like anyone else. I am left wondering why my gender, for some people, is the only thing that they see me to be.
The other person was a trans woman named Eve. Her views are very strongly aligned with my own, and throughout the video, I was constantly thinking about what it would be like for me to sit down with someone who told me I was wrong about myself. I think that I would cry and begin to judge and hate the other person.
As the video moved along, they did many different exercises, such as answering the questions, “What is beautiful in your life?” and “What’s one struggle in your life right now?”
I thought these questions were odd, to say the least. All of the debate content I am used to seeing never gives people a chance to become more than their opinion on screen. I am used to screaming, yelling, and constant interruptions from both sides of every argument. Up until I came across The Enemies Project, I believed that hating the enemy was the only way to live my own life fruitfully. But I was extremely wrong.
Nancy lost her mom to breast cancer. She also was not in America to watch her kids grow up for eight years. She has been through so much hardship that I hope I will never have to experience. The reason that she is scared of trans people is that she doesn’t want to ‘lose’ her children again. And I understand that point of view.
Eve has lost all contact with her family solely because she grew up to be a woman. She also struggled with thoughts of suicide and depression because of the way her family responded to her coming out.
The two connected over their losses and began to see the humanity in each other.
The last prompt they executed was for them to fully embody the other person. While playing each other, they answered the question: “What does the other side not understand about your side?” The two people answered the question as if they were the other person, separating this video from any other debate video I have seen. They truly empathized with one another. They learned about each other and the hardships they faced. They could speak on this topic and let the other person finish thoroughly without being interrupted.
This video altered my perspective on how to handle political issues immensely. My idea of anyone who was not a leftist was filled with confusion, anger, and most of all, disgust. I viewed politics to be something that had two distinct sides, with no room for any sort of variation. Why was I only giving compassion to one kind of person?
The Enemies Project showed me how to love someone I am the complete opposite of. It made me think about what my outlook on other people is on a daily basis—how much do I judge people every day? Is it when I see a photo I don’t like, or when I hear someone say something I disagree with?
After watching an episode of The Enemies Project, I am filled with curiosity about the people on the other side. I want to know and fully grasp their ideas and motivations behind their beliefs. I am left asking myself the question:
Why am I so quick to conclude on a stranger’s character?
The description of the YouTube channel explains the purpose of the channel.
“In each episode, the Enemies Project documentary pairs two people with fiercely opposing worldviews. Intense conflict, yes. But the Enemies Project is neither gotcha TV nor political debate. The purpose is for the ‘enemies’ to find the humanity in the other—because in a warring world, understanding is rebellion.”
Link to watch The Enemies Project on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEnemiesProject/featured
