An extremely populist inauguration speech, an astounding women's march, executive orders, cabinet appointments, alternative facts, border walls, seven days.
It's been a busy week for America and its new president. Love him or hate him, Donald J. Trump is the 45th president of the United States and will be for the next 207 weeks. So if that's music to your ears, congratulations! If that makes you want to vomit, then sorry, but you're stuck with him. But the one thing that has become most apparent in these past seven days is the fact that politics (and the discussion of it) is more important than ever. We can't stop having discussions and trying to make our voices heard just because it has a tendency to enrage others. However, with that caveat, it has also become clear we need to grow better at discussing politics.
We only recently left the most polarizing, mud-slinging, fiery election cycle in recent memory. Societal issues and how to handle them have become open wounds to some people, red, inflamed, sensitive to anything that is not the cooling salve of a shared opinion. It seems to me you can't bring up public policy or even simple opinion without feeling like you're wading through a minefield, on both sides of the spectrum. Just because someone has a differing opinion than you doesn't mean you should stop listening or dismiss them as completely wrong. Communication is a two-way street, and no doubt they want you to understand their side of things just as you much as you want them to understand your side.
We can't go into every political conversation trying to change the other person's mind. It's just not going to happen. Think about all the things that lead you to your current stance and how set you are in it. Their opinion is built upon the same thing: facts and experiences which shaped their perspective and viewpoint. We also need to be more open-minded. Odds are, you didn't have the same experiences as them. You can gain just as much insight listening as you can by talking. You might not agree with them, but the least you can do is hear them out. If you show you're willing to objectively listen to their side, it will lead to a more constructive conversation built upon a mutual respect for each other's viewpoints.
The one thing we all need to realize is this: we are not enemies. Left wing or right, democrat or republican, independent or third party, we all base our beliefs on what we think is best for ourselves, our children, and our country. It might seem difficult to comprehend, considering the poisonous campaign rhetoric and the natural tendency for us to pick sides and stick with them, but it's true. We are all human beings. You have just as much right to your beliefs as I do to mine. We need more empathy, more compassion, more understanding that we're all in this together. The sooner we come to realize we are not each other's enemies, the sooner we can turn to fixing the problems we all share and all want to see solved. So before you launch into a tirade about how your coworker is being idiotic for believing this or your mother-in-law is close-minded for believing that, remember: breath, don't judge, listen, respect, discuss. That's all there is to it.
