“Let’s not talk politics.”
This is a phrase I have heard time and time again, stated during family dinners or classroom discussions. It is a convenient way to sidestep the uncomfortable conversations that come with politics, avoiding any conflict from brewing.
But, is it really productive? We live in a world where avoiding political conversation is becoming harder and harder. Politics is something invariably connected, in some way, to almost every aspect of life in our modern society, whether we like it or not.
“Everything that we do is influenced by politics, even if we don’t want to admit it,” Coppell High School debate co-director Sunhee Simon said.
Then, why do people insist on separation of politics from their personal lives? Why do we pretend that the changes we vote on are not a deep reflection of the kind of world we live in? Avoiding these conversations might be easy, however, by doing so, we miss out on the chance to understand each other and grow.
While politics may be uncomfortable to discuss, it does not mitigate the value of having these discussions.
“You should know what’s going on in the world,” Simon said. “You should form ideas and have opinions about what you think should be done.”
Outside of the United States, millions of people lack the rights necessary to speak up for what they believe in, and millions more in poorer countries lack the technology to have their thoughts heard amidst the sea of voices that constitutes our modern internet. In a world where so many people lack a voice, it is our responsibility to be informed and loud.
If we went back 150 years in time, people viewed the idea of women voting as a frivolous idea, and slavery as a totally normal aspect of life. But now, we recognize that those “opinions” were rooted in sexism and a denial of human rights. What was viewed as another political opinion, was in all actuality a matter of moral and ethical wrongdoing.
I am not saying that we need to turn every conversation into a political debate – there is always a time and place for everything. Yet, when I hear, “let’s not talk politics” for the umpteenth time, what people really mean is that they’re not ready to confront what your politics say about you.
When we start understanding each other’s political views, it becomes clear that these opinions reflect one’s beliefs about human dignity, justice and fairness. When someone casts their ballot to strip away another person’s rights, it tells me something about them that I cannot ignore.
Rather than just ranting about politics and including your own opinions that show moral weaknesses or strengths, having productive conversations is more beneficial.
“Discussion forces you to see both sides of an issue; it allows for people to be a lot more open minded about how they think about politics,” Simon said. “People [will] start forming their own political identities.”
Communicating with others and hearing them out forces you to confront your own biases and really think about how you justify your beliefs. Nonetheless, there’s a line – being one we need to recognize.
Disagreement is healthy, of course. But, there is a difference between disagreeing over tax policies and supporting candidates that dehumanize and discriminate against others. At some point, political opinions stop being just opinions and start reflecting a person’s morality. If you’re willing to vote for someone who is planning to put harmful policies in place, I have to ask: what does that say about you?
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