Here we are yet again in election season. Some of you may be doing some research on who it is you want to vote for. Many of you are probably rewatching the commercials that have been showing since the late summer.
Election time can be dramatic within friend groups. A lot of people base their friendships on their political affiliation. Most people befriend those who are like-minded in their affiliation.
If you do not agree with someone about which candidate is best, you may reconsider your friendship. This is also a problem when it comes to dating. Most Americans downright refuse to date someone outside of their political party. However, no one completely agrees with one another about their politics.
Basing friendships based on politics is very closed-minded. You never know who you might meet in the world. What if you met your soulmate and you had everything in common except for your political affiliation? It is silly to think only one way is correct. If you base a relationship on another person’s beliefs, you know he does not believe the same things you do. You are knowingly hoping to press your political agenda on that person.
Even though it is good to be friends with like-minded people, if you base a friendship on politics too much, that will most likely be the only thing you have in common. Being friends with someone solely on their political beliefs does not mean they would be a good friend to you. Of course, you want to be around people who think like you. However, it is another thing when you drop friends without a second thought if they do not believe the same things as you. It becomes incredibly tiring to be in a relationship or friendship when the only thing you have in common is your political affiliation.
Politics can break friendships quite easily. Nowadays, we see more people fighting over politics instead of religion. Especially during these times, we all want to be right at the end of the day. “Oh, you do not think the same way as me? Oh, you do not believe in pro-choice like me? Our friendship is over!”
It gets tedious at the end of the day because we base too much on our personal beliefs. We could even lose life-long friends based on each other’s politics. This is why basing your relationships solely on political affiliation is wrong. It could show how closed-minded humans can be regarding our belief system.
