Dreading the Dinner Politics Talk?
With the holiday season fast approaching, many of us have one thing in common: family dinners. And what comes along with those dinners? Discussions on politics. Yikes. Few people look forward to politics being raised at dinner and yet…it happens. So, if we know it’s coming, what should we do about it? Well, this post is my own 2 cents on the issue.
I grew up in a town in North Dakota and loved the simplicity of my childhood. When I graduated from high school, I stayed in my hometown for my first few years of college but through a series of events, I realized that I was doing myself a disservice. In an attempt to remedy the situation, I applied for a study abroad program in Barcelona and during this time, I decided to transfer to the University of Minnesota once I returned home from studying abroad. Since this time, I’ve lived with numerous people, in numerous cities all over the globe.
Let me tell you: Best. Decision. Ever.
Now, I feel like I need to clarify. My life did not all of a sudden become this amazing dream that had me waking up with a smile on my face every morning. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was really hard. When I was in high school, I thought I had it all figured out. I thought most issues had a clear answer, that my viewpoints were correct and that anyone who disagreed with me were just misinformed.
But when I started traveling, I met people all around the world who were smart, educated and had totally different belief systems than mine. Meeting people who view the world differently from me was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. My own education truly began once I started listening to those who saw the world differently than I do.
To put it simply, I’m upset by how divided our world (especially the USA) is right now. I hate the fighting, I hate the division and I hate the, “you can only fall on one side or the other” mentality we’ve developed. Believing you can only choose one of two options is an absolute lie and there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that there might not be a clear solution. There’s a reason why intelligent people have polar opposite viewpoints - there is never a “one-size-fits-all” solution.
With the holiday season quickly approaching, I have no doubt that you will be encountering people who have different beliefs than your own. However, at the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We are all human and want our loved ones to be safe, healthy and have fair opportunities in this lifetime. So when you don’t understand how someone could possibly say or believe what they do, find a common ground in our humanness. I encourage you to not fight your way through every conversation, but to listen. After all, we all want the same thing - for the world to be a better place tomorrow than it is today.
Have a beautiful holiday season and I will talk to you in the new year.
With love,
- Heather
Heather Brockell is a Web Designer and Copywriter based out of North Dakota, USA. When she isn’t designing websites or writing, she performs as a professional figure skater and singer in ice shows all around the country.
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