Good people do bad things. Bad people do good things. Issues are rarely black-and-white and you don’t always have to pick a side. 

These seemed like simple and widely accepted principles for much of my life, but it seems over the past decade, the polarization of America has reached a fever pitch. 

On social media, we often see these memes, quotes or “gotcha” videos that are shared, believed, liked, loved and passed on as if they were undeniable truths. We see incredibly complicated issues boiled down to finite points that ignore or disregard a variety of contrary evidence. 

We’ve become a society where free speech is being threatened. We have an ever-growing list of words we can no longer use. It’s stifled conversations to the point where we can’t even talk about different sides of an issue without being labeled as a bigot, a snowflake, a social justice warrior or fascist. 

It feels like any conversations about government, social issues, the environment, gender, police, abortion, military and a host of other hot button topics begin and end with only two points of view -- right and wrong -- and all parties are well entrenched in their beliefs.  

Points of view are often backed by memes or echo-chamber Google searched “information” that’s tailored to support one narrative rather than multiple factors surrounding an issue. 

It’s not just social media. I see it in documentaries. One-sided agenda pushing pieces presented in the guise of journalistic integrity, but without anything that resembles a hint of objectivity. 

In my line of work, I talk to a lot of people and I watch a lot of meetings and listen to people talk at each other far more than I see them talk to each other.

I often hear multiple sides of these issues and I spend time looking into the claims made by both parties. Oftentimes, both sides have strong reasonable points.

That’s why I think there is some hope. I know many people will disagree, largely due to the reasons I’ve expressed above. Memes and talking heads have turned people away from the news media.

Massive corporate news entertainment enterprises sullied the industry’s reputation and blurred the lines between fact and fiction. People have lost faith in the media’s ability to moderate discussions, analyze complex issues and vet claims.

But local news organizations work hard to do this, despite our very limited resources. We can often help cut through the rhetoric by presenting multiple points of view and checking facts.

We attempt to explain objectively how decisions made by lawmakers will impact you.

We attempt to have a moderated opinion section where people can share their thoughts and ideas.

We attempt to look into government systems that have failed and answer the question of why. We attempt to help fix those problems.

And yes, we attempt to do this from an objective point of view.

Of course, all humans have inherent biases and we all fail at times to meet the standard we strive for. But local journalists attempt to keep theirs at bay so we can explore multiple sides of complex issues, rather than being entrenched with blinders on.

I’m not asking anyone to disregard strongly held beliefs. I’m simply asking that you don’t completely disregard other points of view.

Before you start throwing labels and accusations around in debate, maybe take a minute and talk to people about why they believe what they believe and what led them to take on a certain point of view.

 Such conversations can be eye-opening and are the first steps toward reaching common ground.

Jimmy Lawton is news editor of North Country This Week and NorthCountryNow.com