I might be alone in this, but my inner circle of friends seems devoid of any Trump supporters. While I appreciate the lack of butting heads at the drop of an executive order, the absence of these people from my day-to-day life almost concerns me. Millions of people in this country made a choice about the direction this country will take over the next few years and the end result still surprised me. People I knew would reiterate the improbability of Trump getting anywhere close to the Oval Office. I believed them. As a result, my own expectations were skewed and, eventually, wrong.

Cumming, Georgia, almost functions as this semi-permeable pocket of diversity and development that would manufacture liberals like an outsourced factory. The majority of my political viewpoints can probably be traced to this segmented region, almost directly shaping the way I see the world around me as a result. With further subdivisions of this pocket, we begin finding ourselves in units of similarity that become more specific as time progresses. Group thought is founded on agreements based on interests, ambitions, and political ideology. When the news and social media show off something new, these groups are the people we talk to first.

I’ve noticed this sentiment that Trump’s administration may encourage conversation and activism due to the increased level of scrutiny over every tiny detail. It concerns me, however, that this conversation begins and ends with those around you. Assurance in our beliefs may stem solely from the friends we have and their support. Sides are taken on the political spectrum based on the concepts we associate them with. The underlying meaning that made these points substantial may end up lost among the people who preach it most. Any words mechanically tossed out become weightless and hollow because of the limited exposure and challenge you have. Circular discussions with only friends turn your morals into mantras that lose potency every time you breathe them.

If you really feel confident about what you stand for, take some time out of your day to prove it. Arm yourself to the teeth with what you believe and square up against someone with just as much faith as you. Let winning and losing become an afterthought. What matters the most is your growth mindset going in. Dangle your argument out like bait and let it get torn apart by the opposition. If you get lucky, there won't be much left for you to salvage. This shows you the weaknesses of your own viewpoint you won't get in your normal social circles. Once you get here, you can decide to defend it and bring it back from the brink or toss it to the side in favor of something better. Defending it makes you enforces your ideas and boosts confidence. Even throwing away the argument leaves you with ideas that are stronger than the one you just lost and strengthens your position as a whole.

If you know something is true from the bottom of your heart, any argument you make isn't for you. It's for everyone else. Whatever you think gets lost between your brain and theirs. Understanding where a Trump supporter comes from won't diminish the power of what you think. Hopefully, it does the opposite for both of you and encourages a mix up in the general activist formula. Learn something about yourself through knowing thy enemy. Find someone that doesn't make you reconsider your thought process, but makes you redo it. Find someone that sees what your best friend doesn't. Find someone that makes you proud to use the words that so accurately define who you are.