With the holiday season approaching, there's a large, lingering fear among families — the politics talk. Odds are, not everyone in your family or friend group has the same political views. With this past election, things were rocky as well. We've moved from a country that listens to our neighbors to a country that screams at our neighbors to prove we're right. This holiday season, I learned something though. Just because you think you're right doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to understand.
At our Friendsgiving this year, I got into a discussion with one of my favorite people in the whole world, who happens to be one of my family's neighbors. I had always thought we had similar political views. She was all for empowering women and people who don't have an equal opportunity, but she voted a different way then I expected in the 2016 election. I was taken aback, I was completely baffled to be honest. I thought, "How can a woman so strong and so empowering vote this way? It doesn't make sense. She has a young daughter, why would she vote for a man that has publically belittled women?"
As we discussed her vote and my passionate standings, the discussion turned to a heated argument. There was screaming and tears. We watched each other cry and get fired up about where we stand because we were both so passionate about our standings. However, I learned something.
Usually, I would brush off the discussion and walk away, but I stayed. We sat, and in calm voices, we discussed with one another. More importantly, we listened. I listened to her views on politics. Not because I wanted her to change my mind, but because I wanted to understand. I wanted to put myself in her shoes and have empathy for her situation that led to her vote. I realized this is the same person I've loved and looked up to for the past 13 years of my life.
This is the same person that I have thought is fun, free-spirited and powerful. Just because she voted for someone that I wouldn't have doesn't mean that she is less of a person. We still share so many interests, even if we're almost 20 years apart. She loves Stevie Nicks just like me. She wants women to be badass and empowered. She wants the best for the future of this country, and I think that's something we can all agree on.
A few days have passed, and this discussion has been at the forefront of my mind. My neighbor made some great points, even if I didn't agree with them they made sense. I learned that instead of turning my back to a differing opinion, I need to open my mind and ears to these differing opinions. Politics is important. It runs our lives, quite literally. Although, politics doesn't change who we are as people — at least we shouldn't let it change who we are as people.
This country has become so divided in the past four years, possibly more than it ever has been. It's scary. Our country has started to view people as "they voted for her" and "they voted for him." This holiday season, though, I learned that I can't look at my fellow citizens as he voted for him or her, but instead by the content of their character. I need to view them on what and who they fight for in their everyday lives. I need to view them on who they are as a person instead of who they voted for because a filled in bubble doesn't define a person. I have my views and you have yours, but that doesn't mean we can't live side by side in harmony. That doesn't mean that we can't love one another for who we are.
So when things get heated, remember to open your ears instead of raising your voice. Listen to people with different ideas and opinions. They won't change your mind (maybe they will), but you will learn. There is nothing more powerful than love and knowledge.