“Politics and friendship don’t mix” – or, for our generation, “Facebook and politics don’t mix.” We’ve been taught to dodge political dialogue in order to avoid conflict or confrontation with our friends. For a while this seems to work; we all show up to friend gatherings or family dinners with our political thoughts tightly restrained with CAUTION tape in the back of our minds.
Since the recent election, this has stopped working. Some are sad. Some are scared. Some feel misrepresented. Others are happy. Others feel a type of relief. Others have nothing to fear. But, everyone feels defensive about their beliefs.
The facts are that Planned Parenthood, the state of the environment, the economy, gay rights, public education, women’s reproductive rights and access to health care are subject to change under our new president and his cabinet (that is, if they haven’t changed already).
These changes will affect Americans differently, but the attacks we are verbally launching at one another seem to no longer be based on the changes themselves. Each side fails to see or understand how anyone could stand for a different belief. At the root of all the Facebook fights is simply the lack of communicating positively and respectively.
I am a millennial who is fearful and skeptical of the future of our nation. I am educated about the progress we have made within climate change research, women’s rights, gay rights and affordable health care, and I find the better parts of our nation to be at risk.
For a long time, I was also one of many who couldn’t understand how anyone I love could possibly vote against some of the things that I value the most. I had to work on the way I viewed the world around me; I had to find a way to look within the people who I knew voted for President Trump and try hard to understand their reasons. This seemed difficult since everywhere I looked I saw people of both parties aggressively arguing with each other, insulting each other and threatening to delete anyone of a different political party from their Facebook account.
Then I stumbled upon an article from The New York Times titled “I Voted For Clinton. You Voted For Trump. Let’s Talk.” As a breath of fresh air, I took in the words describing how hard it was for a gay man to talk to his father after finding out his father had voted for Trump. Not only was seeing the healthy dialogue between a father and son of different political ideas helpful for me, but it instilled a realization that without the ability to peacefully communicate with those we love (but differ from), we will never unite as a society.
Don’t let yourself delete people (both from social media and your life) because they challenge your political beliefs. In fact, it’s a topic we should use to grow and learn within ourselves and from our valued relationships; challenging each other through political conversation should be constructive and educative. But, in order for this to happen, the pressure and discomfort surrounding any voiced personal political view (from either party) needs to stop ASAP.
Whichever party anyone agrees with, the political division between Americans is real and important. As citizens, we make up America. We stand for the values, morals and goals of democracy, and without functional ways to communicate with each other, we threaten that democracy more than anything else. We can no longer allow each other to make one another feel attacked for what we each value. At the end of the day, what should matter most is that we have friendships and relationships that provide us with a balanced and judgment-free place to express ourselves.
Picture credit: thejacksonpress.com