When I started this blog I made a decision not to write about politics or religion and I’m not about to change that today; however, as I was checking my email, and reading the news on my IPAD this morning I read where someone had decided to unfriend someone on Face Book due to a political disagreement. In this hot political season where everyone seems to be much more polarized that I personally can ever remember, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a friendship dissolved because of a disagreement over politics. As a person who has friends from all walks of life, rich and poor, Black, White, Asian Muslim, Jew and yes, Democrats and Republicans, I find it hard to believe that I would ever lose a friend over something as idiotic as politics. First of all, if you have friends who don’t respect you enough to understand that your views aren’t always going to mirror theirs, what kind of friend is that? At least weekly my friends and I have arguments about some political subject and some of them are heated, but we never leave the conversation as anything other than friends who respect each other’s right to his or her opinion. My dad used to say that everyone is entitled to his opinion, even if it’s wrong which is what I usually say to my friends when I’ve had enough of the argumentJ We basically decide to agree to disagree and let it go which when you think about it is just smart since in most cases we’re never going to solve the issue anyway.
Let’s stop here and take a look at the qualities defined by friendship:
Friendship is a relationship between two people who hold mutual affection for each other. The value of friendship is often the result of friends consistently demonstrating the following:
- The tendency to desire what is best for the other
- Sympathy and empathy
- Honesty, even in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth
- Mutual understanding and compassion; ability to go to each other for emotional support
- Enjoyment of each other’s company
- Trust in one another
- Positively strong, deep, close reciprocity, mutuality — equal give-and-take between the two parties
- The ability to be oneself, express one’s feelings and make mistakes without fear of judgment.
If we believe in any or all of the basic tenants of friendship as defined above, how could any political argument cost us a friend? I know some people allow their political party designation to define who they are and who they associate with, but the truth is that’s a very sad state for anyone to be in. When we close ourselves off to views of others, we also close our minds, and many times it fosters ignorance and sometimes just plain stupidity.
No matter what your political party, we all should always remember that politicians will say anything to get into office and once there, they will say anything to stay there. A politician will do everything possible to keep the masses divided because that’s how they hold onto power. If they can make you and I believe that where we live, our economic status or the color of our skin makes us so different that we can’t possibly have anything in common, that’s what they’ll tell us because gaining and holding power is their only real concern.
Finally, I want to thank my friends for allowing me to be who I am, for respecting my views and knowing that I respect yours; for respecting my right to sometimes be wrong in your view, but respecting me none the less, as I do you. I absolutely appreciate each and every one of you and seriously can’t think of anything that could happen politically that would cause me to think of you as anything other than my friend!
If you agree, pass this on to your friends or have them visit: www.crobrun.com
I’m Just Sayin