By now, we all know that the 2016 Presidential Election has been a crazy ride. Now, politics is one of those subjects that you are told you shouldn’t speak of in a public or social setting, but with everyone being so intertwined in each other’s lives and constantly connected, this rule of etiquette has been somewhat abandoned. Social media has allowed people to express their views with hundreds of people at once, and as we all know, this can lead to comment sections being full of arguments and outright rude behavior. No matter your stance on the place of politics on social media, it can be acknowledged that this new medium has brought a lot more attention to the presidential race.

Politics is also a hard subject to ignore at home. Whether you are watching the news, watching a debate, or just talking about your day at the dinner table, your political views are most likely going to come up at some point. Thankfully, my husband and I have pretty similar political views, but for households with opposing views, politics can cause a lot of tension and issues. I was listening to a morning show on the radio and they were speaking about this subject. They were saying how they have had arguments with family or significant others over the election. Then listeners began calling in, and I could not believe some of the things I was hearing. Some callers said that they haven’t spoken to their significant others for days at a time because of political arguments, kicked them out of the room while watching debates, and even using voting for a candidate as a threat. It was some of the most ridiculous stories I’ve heard in a while.

I had never even thought about the implications of the election on romantic relationships, I usually expect couples to have at least the same fundamental views on life, politics, morals, etc. I knew that sometimes family members can have differing opinions, and I have seen firsthand the problems that arise from it. But all of this fighting, deleting or even blocking people, and outright ignoring each other is getting a little out of hand.

Bottom line – don’t ruin any of your personal relationships because of an election. There are ways to have a political discussion without it blowing up, and that starts with respect. We all know the saying about how everyone has an opinion, and we also know that this doesn’t mean it is the same opinion you may have. But by respecting one another’s opinions, we can maintain relationships through times like these – that means no name calling, belittling, yelling, etc. It can be very informative and beneficial to listen to opinions that oppose your own, but if you aren’t in a place where you can have a calm discussion, maybe you should just avoid the subject entirely.