You can't scroll through Twitter, Facebook or Reddit these days without being bombarded with political posts. While you might be tired of hearing about the latest Trump scandal, it's never a bad thing to be up to date on what's happening in various political parties. On the other hand, the constant negativity between people can be exhausting. Here's how to disagree with the political views you see online, without being a complete jerk about it.
We've all witnessed it: arguments between High School Facebook Friend 1 and High School Facebook Friend 2, where sharing a news article turns into a mud-slinging fight of epic proportions. Everything from name-calling to genuine threats can be seen in these situations. These arguments may cause two people to unfriend each other, but on a larger scale it can quickly cause attitudes to sour when political conversations arise.
It shouldn't be a surprise that an individual who sees such fights every day on their feed would alienate themselves from politics. After all, who wants to bring up their views when they have to fear that their post will degrade into people calling each other idiots? Having respectful debates about politics encourages people to share what they think, which creates an inclusive environment where people can see opposing views. That sounds a lot better than arguments that breed anger and completely miss the educational point of debating.
It's easy to get carried away when talking about something as important as your political views. However, that doesn't excuse name calling. If you're discussing politics, I would assume that you're no longer in elementary school, in which case you should be able to express yourself without insulting others. For example, take a look at this macro:
This post makes a political statement, sure. But it certainly doesn't give any reasoning other than an insult. Why does this person think Bernie supporters are idiots? What part of Bernie's political agenda is the person even disagreeing with? The world may never know. It accomplishes much more when people are able to articulate their views in a way that informs others of opposing ideas. Basically, just remember this: insults don't change views. In fact, they do the opposite. They make people believe that your political base is so childish that they cannot express themselves beyond, "You're wrong because I said so."
Unfriending or unfollowing people due to the way in which they discuss politics is one thing. But what about people who delete others just for expressing that they are a Republican and not a Democrat (or vice versa)?
Everyone has reasons for believing in what they do, no matter how right or wrong you think that belief is. In real life, you can't cut out everyone with a view that is different from your own. If you try, you'll more than likely be left alone quite a bit. As long as someone is being polite about their political view, leave it to respectfully disagreeing. Variety is the spice of life, after all. If we all believed the same thing, the world would be rather boring!
So, in the future, do your best to express yourself politely. You never know who might see what you post. It wouldn't be surprising if a possible employer was turned off of hiring someone because that person couldn't tolerate other people's views.
