Many people shy away from talking about politics. Everyone has their own reasons but from what I’ve experienced it is because of the arguments that arise due to personal biases or the lack of understanding or knowledge. Some topics can get heated because there is a lot of emotion intertwined with the topics.
Politics, in a nutshell, trying to do the same thing but from different approaches. Everyone has the same end goal (at least I hope), to prosper as an individual within the system with minimal damage to others. Everyone has different ways of approaching that goal through either a welfare system or trickle-down economics.
Since I’ve been paying attention to politics and have taken political science classes, there are some things I have observed from both Republican and Democratic politicians. Both tend to point fingers saying the other person is wrong in their beliefs and stooping to mudslinging, using insults to put down the other person. These are not healthy communication habits. When a person disagrees with someone else, a healthy response is to agree-to-disagree. No one person will believe the same way as another, such is human nature. However, name calling and insulting is the standard that modern-day politicians have set, and the U.S. population has followed in their footsteps.
Gen Z is a very diverse group of people when it comes to politics. Some are very politically active while others choose to avoid politics at all costs because they see how heated things get. Some avoid talking about politics because they don’t feel fully educated. Saying, “I don’t know enough information to form an opinion” is a valid response to any political question. You do not have to form and have an in-depth opinion on a topic. However, it’s still important people try to educate themselves on what is going on in the world around them. When people are informed on a topic and start a conversation or debate about it, they should be respectful and keep the conversation focused on the topic and not resort to attacking the individual.
It is imperative our country focus discourse on topics rather than people. However, focusing on topics over people is not a way to excuse unethical behavior. Accountability is important, I would hope that condemning horrible behavior is the standard. But to do so we must not use personal attacks as justification for our political stances. As a collective we must be critical thinkers, do our own research and think for ourselves.
