With the very heated and tense political climate that our country lives in today, I have decided that I am temporarily taking a much-needed break from politics.

Now I know what you may be thinking when you read that sentence. You probably think that I am a typical young adult who does not want to put in the extra time to learn about the current political state, or you think I am only disconnecting myself because I am able to, due to my "white privilege." The truth is, I am not disconnecting myself because I don't care about other people, or because I am lazy, or not interested. In fact, I am usually very interested in learning about different political issues and making my own opinions on them. But for now, I am disconnecting myself because I am tired of the way people talk about politics.

Lately, the media has made me want to pull my hair out. News outlets like Fox News, MSNBC, etc. can cover the same stories so differently due to the bias of the specific station, which often causes the channels to leave out important details of certain issues. And the more people rely on information gathered from biased sources, the more biased people become.

I am not saying that bias is a bad thing because everyone is going to naturally favor certain opinions over others. But the problem with these bias news stations is that they often put their politics above facts, which can mislead viewers and persuade them into drastically favoring one party over the other in every aspect. I think that because of biased media, average citizens have become more polarized and less willing to make compromises with the opposing party.

Because the country has become more and more divided, especially due to the election of President Trump, I find that it has become harder to have civil political discussions with friends, acquaintances, family, and coworkers. Every political discussion seems to turn into an argument, and relationships with others with different political views are becoming tenser.

For example, I have been frowned upon by many of my closest friends for being "too conservative" when it comes to certain issues, yet I have also been made fun of in my family for being "too liberal" when it comes to other issues. But since when do I have to agree with every aspect of a specific party's platform? Since when am I attacked for voicing my opinion just because it is different than yours? And since when do my political views "offend you" or cause a problem in our friendship?

I refuse to debate and talk about politics with people if they are not going to respect my opinions or leave room for compromise in conversation.

I also refuse to learn about politics if the news outlet is too biased.

So politics, I guess this is goodbye... for now. I'll be back once everyone can learn to just take a deep breath and hear people out without wanting to cut people's throats.