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One of the challenges in having a two-party political system is polarization. The extreme ideological right and extreme ideological left are more politically active than the centrist population (Doherty, 2014). Much of the gridlock in Congress, and the combative nature of political interaction today can be attributed to the fact that the US is currently at one of its most polarized points in history (Schickler, 2012). It will likely take a great deal of time and effort to overcome adverse effects of polarization. Surely the greatest force against it will be increased dialogue on political issues with a commitment to respectfully revealing the truth and stripping out sensationalism or hostility. The counterweight feature of the site will further this cause by creating an area of the site which shows users popular content from people with opposing views (also see previous section Why DigiCiti? for overcoming the “filter bubble”). Using the account creation questionnaire results, and filters set by the user, the site can show debates, posts, news, and among other things, legislation created by sources of differing ideologies. The section can include district maps showing recently updated estimates for dominant party affiliation of the area and resources to show ideological and party platform positions on current events issues.

Users will be encouraged to view this section by occasionally being sent a message with content from the Counterweight. They can also have a counterweight widget on their login page so that they regularly see a snapshot of activity from people of opposing views. In many cases this is likely to reveal the fact that most people agree on more issues than they disagree on, despite party affiliation. At the very least, it will be a way to “keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer”, having the effect of adding nuance to arguments from both sides since they know more about one another. However, this feature should be viewed in the light of fostering greater cooperation and understanding. While this section may spark what seems like harmful conflict, we cannot shy away from conflict, rather we should meet it head on using conflict resolution skills to negotiate, and constructive negotiation can only take place if we come to better understand opposing positions.