Let's Talk Politics

It is uncomfortable to discuss the Presidential election with some of my friends. It is a sore subject. On Facebook, there is both serious and lighthearted commentary about political postings. It used to be that money, sex, and religion were the topics that polite people avoided. Now there is a fourth and it is not a good thing.

Party politics has come to resemble religion. Although I would never consider myself a person of “faith,” I am highly religious. But I do not see any politician as a god figure or any party as a church. These are human beings and human created institutions that, as far as I know, have not received the seal of approval from any deity. Yet our political discourse sounds like battling missionaries!

Why do I feel uncomfortable and awkward when the election is mentioned in certain company? Why do people sometimes preface their statements with, “Well, I’m sure you’ll disagree but…” when caution is thrown to the political wind and we briefly and painfully open the subject, only to be reminded by our spouses and friends that “we agreed not to talk about this!”

Why can’t we talk politics? Why is it friendship ending? Why do blood pressures and voices end up raised beyond a healthy level? What is going on here? I wrote last year about my concern that dialogue was dying in our government. Now I am concerned that it is dying around dinner tables and water coolers.

And the old excuse of, “You’re not going to change anyone’s mind anyway” is the fashionable rationalization. Instead of “ conversion,”  could we engage in a conversation that both brings us together and gives us greater understanding? It could be a positive process.

Let’s talk politics. Let’s talk about important issues that affect our families, communities, and nation! Let’s listen to each other. I am suggesting discussion and exploration not debate!

I don’t know everything. I don’t read all the news or follow all the fact checkers and pundits. I pick and choose. Bias from news sources is inevitable. I don’t believe anyone who says that, “the choice is obvious” because if that were true, I could talk about this issue with everyone and we’d all hug and smile. The issues aren’t simple, easy, or clear. And they certainly aren’t black and white. Oversimplifications do not foster good decisions and may be an unethical attempt at persuasion.

And we must have an ethical discussion: one in which we look at issues as fairly and factually as possible.  Can we do it with a computer nearby so we can look things up as we go along? Can we evaluate the information sources together?

It won’t be easy and it won’t be fast. Could that be the real reason we won’t talk? Is it we don’t want to take the time and energy such dialogue will require? We know we’re right and those idiots are wrong, so why waste the effort? Another rationalization that only keeps us apart and in the dark.

The more we refuse to talk to our friends, neighbors, and even family about these areas of disagreement, the wider the chasm grows and the more license we give politicians to do the same. I want progress in Washington! I want members of both parties to talk to each other and create solutions together! I don’t want a one party system! I don’t want a bully system that stomps out its opposition. Minority voices, be they the minority party, minority viewpoints, or minority groups are critical to