Politics shouldn’t be personal
I am a Democrat. I believe Donald Trump is the most destructive thing that could happen to the future of this country. You know who doesn’t think that? Two people who have had the greatest influence on my 32 years as an inhabitant of this earth: my father and my grandfather.
I’m not sure if they really like Trump, or simply detest Hillary Clinton. We certainly don’t see eye to eye on most political issues, but I still love them.
Politics, especially in this climate, can divide us. It already has. How many friendships have ended, or family bonds been strained, because of the 2016 presidential election? How many of us have unfollowed people on social media because of their views? I know I’ve done the latter. We live in a time where anyone with a computer and a social media account can immediately bloviate and proselytize to a small but captive audience.
On Twitter, we can declare our allegiances and poke our enemies in 140 characters. On Facebook, we can share outrageous and offensive memes as easily as we can click “like” on an innocuous post. It has allowed all of us to have a voice, though we don’t always have a lot of say.
I’ve been keenly aware that my views are not aligned with the politics of some family members and friends. As a talk show host in southwestern Pennsylvania, I understand I represent a minority progressive viewpoint in an area with an overwhelming number of Trump/Pence 2016 signs in yards, on the sides of buildings, and even embroidered on vehicles.
That’s why I reached out to my dad and grandfather and told them that despite our political differences, I love them both. Maybe it didn’t have to be said – family always know how you feel without any words having to be spoken – but I’m glad I took that step. And I’m even more delighted to see the feelings were returned. It was the technological equivalent of “hugging it out” after an argument. Blood isn’t just thicker than water; it’s thicker than politics.
It is easy to get caught up in the heat of battling on keyboards and on message boards. It’s easy to forget that differences in politics doesn’t mean you have to create an enemy. In fact, one of the oft-told political tales is the friendship formed between Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill. They were adversaries, but were able to have a drink together at the end of the day and go their separate ways as friends.
We can have disagreements. We can have debates. We can shout from the top of our lungs for the whole wide world to hear, until we’re literally foaming at the mouth. But if the risk you take is doing irreparable damage to those fragile relationships with friends and family — to smashing into millions of tiny pieces the very bonds that define who we are — ask yourself this: is it really worth it?
If you have to think more than a second about your answer, I would suggest taking a few steps back from the edge of the cliff over which you are perilously closer to falling in to. In fact, take a giant leap back from that abyss. Because it’s only politics.
Friends and family are forever.
Joe Salzone is a talk show host at WMBS. He can be reached at joe@wmbs590.com.