As the Election Draws Near…

…You should always try to be, but especially now, be good to each other.  It’s a sentiment I’ve been thinking a lot about recently, but as my coworkers and I were putting out our timely green cups and hanging a new window cling, it was placed right in front of me as though telling me to write this blog now.

One week from today, unless they have already voted via early voting or an absentee ballot, people will be going to their local voter booths and choosing their future President along with many other local office positions. While many people seem to know what they will be marking in their booth, I encourage everyone on all sides of the political spectrum to try their best to be respectful and listen to each other.

It’s been one nasty year in politics.  Horrible things have been said about races, genders, sexualities, countries, and the supporters of any of the candidates.  People say that those of whichever party they are opposed to are disgusting and stupid. I had one family member say they had lost respect for another because of their political decision. I’ve seen people post gross memes declaring their opinions on all of the forms of social media.  While I know it can be incredibly difficult to not think negative ideas about people believing that the other candidate should win, I think those harsh comments are what cause even more devisiveness within our culture.  The fact that we are bi-partisan for the most part is difficult because it drives a partition between people. It seems to only further polarize sections of our country rather that promote compromises that benefit the most people.

I really dislike discussing politics with people.  I usually become self-conscious and feel stupid because I usually don’t know as much about a certain political topic as the people around me.  I usually find political discussions to be a bit stressful and best avoided. However, starting in college, I feel like I was finally around a few people who were willing to sit down and discuss with me their point of view and rationally talk about our differences.  These conversations were started with both sides being open-minded, willing to listen to each other, and feeling safe to express how we felt abut the issues at hand.  I distinctly remember sitting in the dorm room of my friend Rachel Cohen late one night during freshman year talking for awhile about an issue we disagreed on.  Even with our differences, we were happy to truly hear what each other said without interrupting, calling names, or saying that each other was wrong.  Since then, she and I have talked about a variety of topics in a similar way.  Each conversation has helped me grow as a person and become more accepting of different points of view.  They have also lead me rethink some of the ideas that I clung to for awhile.  I am so glad to be the person I am today because of the interactions I’ve had with her as well as several of my friends.

So, obviously, this type of post is coming quite late to the party, but I hope people may read it and start conversations with others that are actually beneficial with both people truly wanting to understand their viewpoints. There are too many people who want to talk over each other rather than stop to listen and learn.  Maybe I am acting a little bit naive, but I like to believe that if more people were to encourage this kind of behavior that maybe our country would be more united, positive, and just a little more peaceful.  I know it sounds so cheesy, but with a little reminder from the door of your local coffee shop, it can start with the motivation to be good to each other.

Thank you for reading! 🙂