Last week, my daughter and I were invited to a Pokemon trading card event. I figured it would be a relatively small gathering of kids accompanied by their parents, but I realized my colossal underestimation of this event’s magnitude the moment we walked in the door. Several hundred adults, adolescents, and children were packed like sardines into the facility, and although it was 16 degrees outside, it had to have been about 116 degrees in the building due to the sheer mass of humanity.

The odors were as diverse as the demographic; I would say it was something like sauteeing stale Fritos in sesame oil…in a moist gym sock…while in a sauna. Dreadlocks, tattoos, piercings, mom jeans, Crocs, trenchcoats, Pikachu costumes…if you can imagine any outfit or accoutrement, it was there!

And I’m sure that the political opinions of this crowd were as diverse as the smells and the wardrobes… but NO ONE CARED.

Bulbasaur doesn’t have an official position on Seed Oils.

No records exist suggesting Pikachu may be politically charged.

And although Charizard is super effective against ice-type Pokemon, he has never once opined on governmental policies.

Adults freely gave extra cards to children, and everyone oohed and aahed when a lucky kid pulled a holographic Squirtle from a pack. Price-checking ensured the fairness of transactions, and the existential angst of a country in conflict seemed deliciously distant.

Our country undoubtedly has issues, and I certainly don’t want to trivialize tragic events or undermine the reality of absolute truth. But perhaps the political polarization is not as profound as both mainstream and social media would lead you to believe.

Maybe we all just need to get together and trade Pokemon cards…I’ll give you an Eevee for your Diglett, even if we voted differently in the last election