Hear me out. I understand that most people will not agree with me but I think that this could be very beneficial and possibly make your friendship stronger.

The three things that people should never discuss with one another are finances, religion, and POLITICS...supposably. We all know that you always want to be respectful to one another, and maintain good relations with people in our class, people we work with, and people that we may not know very well in general. Now, I would never discuss finances with anyone because I think we can all agree that, that's just a bit too personal. Well, how about discussing something like politics with close friends?

I never openly discuss issues like religion or politics unless it is relevant and when it is the most appropriate. Luckily, I have made friends that vary in religious and political beliefs so I feel comfortable expressing my opinions about certain issues with them and they feel the same towards me. It's interesting because no matter how different our beliefs may seem to one another we always somehow find a happy medium to agree on. I have friends who are on the complete opposite of the political spectrum as I am but like I said, we always seem to find something to agree on.

I think that having a simple conversation, even about one topic, not only builds a sense of understanding but also the ability to help make a difference.

Politics have become such a polarizing issue that has reduced both sides of the political spectrum to just "red" and "blue". But what if we made purple? When liberals and conservatives look at one another all we can see sometimes are the stereotypes that engulf their party while ignoring the human being who just simply have different aspects of their beliefs that are different from our own.

Have I been guilty in only viewing my opinion as the "right" one? Absolutely. However, I didn't want to continuously shut people out for thinking a different way. So, I started listening. Sometimes listening to someone can make a lot more of a difference than speaking. Now, am I saying to be silent about certain issues that you strongly believe in, no! But don't forget to let someone else have their turn to speak, too.

My friendships have gotten so much stronger after having simple conversations like this. We both are aware of each other's opinions but we respect one another. I encourage people to get to know each other and not just what they may believe but why they may believe it. Doing this can bring upon real change, even if you think it won't. Compromise can be such a positive thing and may help bring real change to our country in the future. Our country is on the right track, don't get me wrong. But there can always be room for improvement. And while politics can definitely be polarizing, never let them polarize a friendship.