It’s pretty normal when you and your friends disagree and fight even over mundane things.. But problems truly arise when your friends have different political views from yours. Politics can ruin even your most treasured friendships.
So how should you deal with friends with different political views?
Do you look down on your friends and hate them for having those political views? Should you disagree completely by unfriending or blocking them from your social media accounts? Or should you talk to them in person to point out why you’re right and why they’re wrong, until you find you’re already having a heated argument? God forbid if the argument turns into a physical fight!
Politics is one of the hardest things to discuss. People older than you have often said that it shouldn’t even be talked about to avoid fights, but the younger generations have been justifying that politics should really be talked about, and they should express their opinions loudly, simply because the country’s future is at stake.
How about you? What’s your opinion about this? How should you really deal with this dilemma?
Why not take these matters into consideration before making a decision:
Think why you became friends in the first place.
In the past, these friends of yours may have helped you during your darkest and most difficult moments. They must have really gone out of their way to help you during those times when you needed people to lean on. Will you give up that kind of friendship because you disagree with their political views? Never mind your not-so-close friends and acquaintances. It wouldn’t hurt if you remove them in your life, especially when, for you, they have turned into toxic people.
Should your really vent on social media or is it better to talk or chat with them directly?
Oh, yes, you’re entitled to your own opinion, and you have your freedom, so no one can really stop you if you vent on social media. But then, always think twice or a lot more times before you post, because you may only make things worse should you do that.
Avoid embarrassing your friends by posting about how foolish they are because of their political views.
The problem is about wrong choice of candidates for the election, and not about your friends’ physical flaws and other things you find lacking about them. Hitting below the belt won’t solve the problem and won’t change their minds about their political views. In fact, attacking them on social media by belittling them will only trigger hatred on your friends’ part. So who will suffer when that happens, especially if lots of people agree with their political views? That may only worsen the situation.
Better focus on what really matters most.
Focus on the reasons why you disagree with your friends’ political views. Yes, focus on why you’re so passionate to change their minds. It’s because you care about your country, and you wish to help improve the nation’s economic growth by voting the right candidates. That’s why you wish to vote politicians who, you think, can do so much so that all people in the nation can have a brighter future.
Once you focus on that, and discuss that with your friends, all of you will find that you do have similar purposes. You all want a better life in your country and a brighter future for everyone and for the generations to come. The only problem is the difference in the candidates you wish to vote. Because choosing the wrong candidates may worsen the nation’s economic situation.
Post more about facts as well as other reliable sources.
Your friends with different political views will of course won’t believe what you post and may even contradict you about them. They’ll defend their preferred candidates, not knowing if their sources of information are fake news or just made by social media trolls. But just keep on posting about true facts even if they ridicule you. Prevent yourself from retaliating and insulting them because the truth is, that won’t help resolve the real problem at all.
Post about the candidates’ accomplishments, political platforms, as well as their personal backgrounds.
You can really decide better on who to vote if you review the candidates’ accomplishments. That will be a big help to check if they have really done their jobs as politicians. It’s also commendable to observe their political platforms. Beware of politicians who have awesome platforms yet have not done any of those when they have been elected for a long time now. It’s also advisable to check their personal backgrounds. Somehow you’ll find some who have no issues of corruption and who have good track records. They’re the ones who deserve your votes.
Avoid making publicity for politicians who don’t deserve your votes.
Bad publicity is still publicity. So stop posting about politicians you don’t wish to hold positions in the government anymore. Your posts against those politicians will only give them attention and popularity.
