By Ava Uhlack, Nov. 5, 2024
I grew up with my mother telling me, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all,” a phrase that seems basic in nature but has come to represent politics in a way that it wasn’t meant to.
Politics are currently a sensitive but also extremely passionate subject for many people. People can talk about politics for hours with friends and family who have aligning beliefs. But for those with differing views, the environment has become dangerously charged and tense in such a way that often threatens relationships.
According to a report from the Pew Research Center, 58% of Americans who follow the political news cycle “extremely closely” no longer discuss politics with another person. Additionally, 48% of Americans who follow the political cycle “somewhat closely” also decide to cut conversation with another person.
Humans are social creatures meant to communicate and lean on one another, but this one topic is so earth-shattering that it combats every sense of our nature.
There is nothing wrong with people having different perspectives. Our individualities are what make society the beautiful mosaic it is. We should be able to talk about our differences with civility, not only as an innately social species but as a democratic nation that constitutionally values free speech.
It’s through people’s social environments that morals and stances develop in the first place, according to the National Library of Medicine. One experience can spark a new behavioral development.
That’s not to say every view or opinion is automatically valid or correct, but there should at least be an opportunity for us to speak about our differences. You can be positionally different from people and still be a decent human being.
“People say we conservatives are anxious about saying what we think,” said Aadi Mehta, the president of the College Republicans at Cal Poly Pomona. “There is so much backlash everywhere we go. When I’m having a conversation with someone, I have to watch what I can say. Do liberals do that? I don’t think to the same extent.”
It’s not surprising California Republicans feel this way, and I’m sure liberals feel similarly in red states.
There is so much pressure to not potentially offend someone and to be wary of accidentally opening the societal Pandora’s Box of political conversation.
As social creatures, humans like to be accepted. Those belittling and demeaning experiences create a pattern of staying silent out of fear of not being accepted.
This phenomenon is referred to as the spiral of silence, a theory that people’s willingness to divulge their personal beliefs regarding controversial social topics is contingent on whether those beliefs are widely popular or unpopular, according to Britannica. In a sense, people are less likely to speak up about their beliefs because of fear of social isolation and ostracization.
From here it just goes further downhill, the less we speak up, the less truly democratic we become, and at some point, we will destroy the foundation of the great nation we stand on.
All because we can’t just sit down and talk
Within this is a greater social issue of becoming socially blacklisted for having a different set of beliefs.
“A lot of the time the discussion surrounding politics is more so advocating for the voiceless and those who are unseen and unheard,” said Jessica Castilo, an adjunct faculty member in the political science department. “It’s important to meet everyone with an open mind rather than seeing people as ‘the other’ or the enemy. We never know what someone’s experiences are until we give them the opportunity to share their lives and what’s impacted them and why things matter to them the most.”
At this point in my life, that phrase from my childhood has changed from “if you have nothing nice to say, then don’t say it,” to “if you have anything political to say, then don’t say it.”
We are as a society slowly taking the social out of social creatures and making the First Amendment look like an option, instead of a right guaranteed and protected for all.
Everyone wants to be heard so badly that they are willingly to censor and shut down anyone else who might disagree or be on the opposite side just so they can be heard.The First Amendment is a freedom that has allowed our nation to continue to evolve. Every voice having the chance to advocate for themselves is the reason changes are made in our democracy. Our governmental leaders wouldn’t be in their positions if they didn’t have the ability to speak openly about their beliefs and what they want to do in their positions.
That said, not every belief or stance a governmental leader has is going to be nationally supported. Even so, we acknowledge they are free to believe as they wish, and if we don’t agree with them, we vote for someone else.
Politicians can speak out about politics and still work with other politicians who believe differently in the House of Republicans and Senate.
But friends who have known each other for years have to end their friendship because they vote differently? Without even a simple sit-down conversation to acknowledge a difference in perspective and respect each other for choosing to stand firm in their beliefs as the First Amendment has given them the right to, we are dissolving people to a single perception even though there is individuality in every viewpoint.
As a generation that has no problem standing up for themselves, it’s time to bring our society to an environment that it’s supposed to be, which is a conversational one.
Just because someone doesn’t have the same beliefs as you doesn’t mean they are not open to speak about their differences. Speaking openly allows for beliefs to be created in the first place.
This goes for every political party and affiliation. The political aisle you stand on is not exempt from hearing another out.
You can still be friends with someone who has different political beliefs than you. There is a difference between outright cruel treatment because of differences and disagreeing with someone’s politics but still respecting them as a person.
So please, just put social concerns aside for a second and talk it out. Have a conversation and get to know why people think in a certain way. And remember, it’s OK to agree to disagree.
Feature image courtesy of Ava Uhlack