Politics can be a difficult subject to discuss!
I hate the labels of political parties because they have the tendency to lock people into a mold and in my opinion make them inflexible. The inflexibility prevents people from true and meaningful discussion. Nothing is gained when the supporting philosophy is that the other side is completely without a brain. This does not mean that you don’t have principles that are important to you; however, this does not mean that you have to agree with everything that comes down the pike.
In early days, people at least talked to each other. As for our elected officials, especially those in Washington, D. C. they don’t even stay there and get to know the other side, or try to get along. They run back to their bastions of similar thinkers and accomplish absolutely nothing!
Among my friends are people that have agreed to disagree when it comes to certain subjects. I have relatives that were very close in earlier days, but we differ on religious grounds. We can discuss the subject today, but it is understood that I am not going to change them and likewise, they are not going to change me. It would be a very boring world if all of the people in it agreed with you all the time.
To me, the secret is to disagree without being disagreeable. There is nothing to be gained from putting others down and there is nothing to be gained by others that spend their entire time trying to put you down. Respect for others and separation of people from ideas is what has made us a great nation!
Is there anything to be gained by not even discussing differences between ideas? I don’t think so. If your idea is so great, it is defendable and if there are no merits to the other side, it can be proven to be so. Civility is the ability to intelligently discuss differences. My experience is that we often share more of the same core values than we disagree on. First let’s find the common ground then discuss. Don’t reject everyone that disagrees with you and you will find that you can learn without giving up what is dear with you.
Problems are not solved by running away from them, but from seeking solutions.
Picture reference:
www.lp.org