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Can Poetry Help Resolve Social Issues?

Today in our present-day society, there is no doubt that many social issues are unsettled. While many of these social issues will remain unresolved for a long time, given that everyone has the right to their own, individual opinion,  poetry could possibly help.  I feel as if when we discuss and inspect these social issues we are only viewing the simple, head-on interpretation of what they mean, how they affect society, and so on. However through the use of poetry, authors are able to capture and portray a complexity of the issue that was not being seen before. Poetry invokes empathy, compassion, connections, and just overall helps us to realize the pieces that we missed. With this in mind, I believe that it becomes more clear that maybe many of these social issues do lack these components that could prove to be beneficial. When our society talks about and wishes to resolve such social issues, we want one answer because it seems to be our human nature to wish for simplicity over complexity. However, I personally don't think simplicity can be the answer in situations such as these. With so many voices needed to be heard in such controversial issues, complexity is inevitable. Obviously I am not trying to say that poetry is the magical solution to all our world's social issues. However, maybe it could help us discover more clarity as poetry allows us to connect with one another and open our eyes to a new perspective.

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