"Politics: The Monster In You"
Is it not the truth?
Over the course of the presidential debate, I have noticed people being incredibly rude about their political beliefs. I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I do not agree with verbally abusing someone's beliefs whether on Twitter or to their face. In the video above, Anna mentions that there are places and times to talk about it and not to talk about it. If two people are having a peaceful and calm discussion (rather than argument) where they state their beliefs and are willing to listen to the other person, that is a fantastic thing. Many people feel as if they have to defend their beliefs and hate the other side/beliefs. I believe that the hatred of the other side completely unnecessary, and that a person should respect other people as well as their opinions.
We are an opinionated people and are entitled to speak upon our opinions, but with the mask/shield of social media in the common era, people feel much more comfortable sending out that tweet about how "Mitt Romney is a rich white sleaze bag" or "Barack Obama is ignorant and isn't a citizen of the United States." A great rule of thumb is not to use "name-calling" while speaking your opinion. Respect others whether they are in agreement with your beliefs or not.
Always use the complete truth or facts when you are discussing politics because it is very hard to respond to someone when they are saying something that isn't true. It will be very beneficial to both sides of the discussion if you will refrain from insulting the person themselves or their lifestyle. If you get sucked into an argument or a discussion turns into a heated and/or disrespectful argument, the best exit strategy is to say nothing at all or refrain from saying something rude or disrespectful. It can be extremely difficult to hold your tongue, but it is very necessary. There is no reason why friends, family or acquaintances should hate/dislike one another because of a heated argument about politics.
Politics does bring out very strong and/or passionate feelings because it greatly involves the person's life in many ways such as the following: money, religion, family or their futures. That being said, many people feel as though they need to defend their beliefs with a dagger in hand or the inner monster is unleashed. It does take a lot of effort to respect people's opinions, but always resort to etiquette including respect, consideration and honesty.
-Grant Ausbury
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