There’s an age-old saying: don’t talk about religion, or politics. But why not? I get it; talking about politics can be stressful. It causes conflict. And it’s especially terrible if you don’t know a lot about politics, or if you don’t particularly care.

But with the primaries just around the corner, we all need to start thinking – who are we voting for? Why are we voting for them? And if you’re one of those people who hates talking about politics, you’re not going to have a solid reason for your vote.

People who like to talk about politics tend to have strong convictions. Sure, that makes talking about the topic difficult. But that doesn’t mean you should completely avoid the topic altogether; it’s an important part of our society. So why shouldn’t we talk about it?

Politics is always a touchy subject. It’s the conversation topic that comes up at family dinners on Sunday evenings, always creeping up on you when you specifically don’t want it to. It tends to turn into a heated conversation between sides, usually ending up with someone being bitter when they’ve “lost.” And so that’s why people tend to steer clear of the conversation – no one wants to argue over dinner, anyways.

Bringing up a topic such as this tends to be seen as taboo – while we all know someone who’s very passionate about talking about politics, we never want to sit down with them and have a civil conversation. But the question is, why? Why don’t we want to? What about politics makes us want to run and hide?

Maybe it comes from the fact that we don’t want our world views threatened. We don’t want to hear someone else shut us down, or even just try to. But if we’re confident in our opinions, our outlooks – like so many of us claim to be – why do we even care? Maybe it’s because we’re happier talking about lighter topics, like when Kanye’s new album drops, or what Beyoncé wore to the Grammy’s.

Or maybe it lies in the fact that we don’t like to admit that the people we support aren’t necessarily perfect. We’re always ready to attack the opposition. But we’re never ready to hear about the flaws of the person we support. And when talking politics, especially when it’s with someone who doesn’t support the same candidate as yourself, it can be hard to listen and discuss rationally.

But the problem with not talking about it is the fact that it becomes the elephant in the room. Politics is an important part of our society; it affects all of us, whether or not we really think it does. Discussing politics is important in broadening horizons, cementing opinions, and understanding the reasoning for others’. It’s always good to know what’s going on in the world; there are is always something happening that could very well change our lives.

A person’s political views shape who they are. It molds their beliefs into specific views and ideologies. Politics is the study of governmental processes, but also accounts for human behaviors. Politics are important because they force us as people to analyze and think critically about how these factors affect our societies. If we’re not talking about politics, we become complacent, begin just accepting what’s thrown at us, instead of realizing that we can have a say in the matter or have an impact on our country.