Bell County High School valedictorian Ben Bowling may have provided an important lesson for those who attended graduation ceremonies at the school recently. Bowling’s speech received quite a bit of national attention, maybe because his words revealed how so many have taken sides in a national political debate.

“This is the part of my speech where I share some inspirational quotes I found on Google,” Bowling said in his speech, as reported by the Middlesboro Daily News. “’Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.’ — Donald J. Trump.”

As seen on a video posted to Twitter, the crowd erupted in applause. While the crowd continued to clap, Bowling interrupted stating, “just kidding, that was Barack Obama.”

With the revelation, the attitude of the crowd changed with at least one person giving a resounding “boo.”

While many in attendance were probably a little angry that they had been fooled, perhaps Bowling taught them something about themselves. The quote is no less true, no matter who said it, even if some are so close-minded they immediately agree with anything said by a politician they like and disagree if it’s someone they dislike.

It’s a national debate, except there is no real talking or negotiating involved. The sides are clearly drawn and no one is listening to anything they don’t want to hear.

There is no middle ground anymore. There is no gray area. It’s all black and white – good vs bad and right vs wrong.

Perhaps young Mr. Bowling was able to teach something to those in attendance and those who watched the video, at least for those whose minds are still open to the possibilities that they may still have something to learn.