It's safe to assume that politics is a hot-button topic for anyone in any country. Especially in America, with a new president taking the helm in a mere two months, the news cycle has been overrun with what seems to be every single second of the candidates' lives on the campaign trail.
There's always another press conference, another interview, another scandal, another controversy. And never have I seen the Republican and Democratic party's respective candidates inspire so much divisiveness, with firmly stated opinions devolving into vitriolic arguments and even outright hate.
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Frankly, it all kind of scares me, and at this point, I just want to get it over with.
Now I'll admit, I used to be very cynical towards the general idea of politics and government, especially American politics and American government. It most likely had to do with my perspective as an outsider looking in since I didn't actually grow up in America, despite being a U.S. citizen.
In high school, I would sneer at the mere idea of voting because I didn't see any point to it. The system's flawed, everyone's shady and I don't have the time or the patience to be well-informed about any of it.
Fast-forward to me at 20 years old where I am officially registered to vote and just sent in my vote-by-mail application. So yeah, things have definitely changed my mind.
As a citizen of this country who has the ability and the right to vote, I now feel like I should take full advantage of that and actually participate in America's democracy. I try to stay on top of what's going on in the American political realm, and I do plan to vote in the upcoming presidential election and future federal, state and local elections.
But what I won't be doing is divulging my political views and who I'll be voting for publicly, especially online.
I don't mean to be mysterious or coy. If you ask anyone in my immediate family or any of my close friends, they'll know where I stand on the political spectrum, or at least have a pretty good idea of it. And if someone private messages me or wants to have a one-on-one conversation, then I'd be more than happy to have a healthy discussion about it.
It's just a personal choice that was easy to make since I'm not the type of person to state such opinions publicly in the first place, and I don't expect anyone else to do the same.
I'm not one of those people who think that politics shouldn't be discussed at the dinner table. In fact, I think the dinner table is actually the best place to discuss politics: with friends and family( i.e. people you trust). Sure, social media has friends and family too, but it also has acquaintances and people who might as well be, or definitely are, strangers.
I'm also not calling out those who do openly state their political views. The First Amendment protects our right to free speech, and we should definitely exercise that right.
If you feel convicted to say something, go for it. You're entitled to your opinion, and what you say matters, whether people agree or disagree with you. It's just not for me because I shy away from conflict and personally dislike getting into serious debates with people I don't really know, especially online where everyone can see and say anything, yet hide behind their screens.
Like I said before, politics can get pretty messy pretty quickly. And yeah, everyone involved has an agenda, whether they're actually in politics or just discussing it. That agenda can be either sinister or sincere, but with politics--and really, any big issues--everyone should ask themselves whether they're hoping to sway someone's opinion, get a different perspective or just pick a fight with someone who doesn't agree with them.
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