By Maggie Alexander | Social Media Editor
Would you ever base who you are friends with on what someone orders for dinner? What about where they are from or how they look? All people are different. All people are entitled to their own choices, thoughts and opinions.
The same goes for politics. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, personal political opinions should not affect friendships.
The stereotypes of political parties often intrude your thoughts and ideas regarding those that you don’t particularly agree with. Yet, when it comes down to it, the majority of people in the United States identify as moderate in political discussions. Unfortunately, because of radical stereotypes, both sides of the political spectrum have some negative light cast on them.
Where the line of politics is often blurred is the issue of human rights. The way someone treats others and believes others should be treated is an indicator of potential friendship opportunities. However, this treatment shouldn’t be associated with a particular political party. The way someone treats others goes beyond which side someone votes for. There are more deeply rooted morals that reflect how a person treats another person. When someone is not equal, just or even kind, that accurately indicates a potential friendship.
People have the choice to become friends with whoever they want. And from experience, I know that if I only associated myself with people who thought the same as me, I would be missing out. There is so much beauty in learning from others who are different from you. If everyone was the same and believed in all the same things, how would we be able to learn from others?
My advice is to embrace people who are different from you. Love others well, and allow people to have their own opinions and thoughts. There is beauty in diversity, and when you choose not to embrace that, you miss out on friendships that can flourish. No matter what they believe in or how they vote, friendship is always a possibility.
