In the year of 2022, everyone is opinionated, and many people let their opinions get in the way of relationships. This is not how it should be. In the past, a person would never know their friends’ political views, most people wouldn’t even know their family’s political views. It wasn’t until recent years that everyone has become so vocal about their political opinions. A large factor in the outspokenness of people is social media. Anyone can go on their phones and type whatever they want and post it with no consequences. A lot of people get into “Facebook fights”, even with their own friends and family. This is extremely unhealthy. There’s no reason someone should let their political views get in the way of a friendship. Some even let it affect their familial relationships. It’s ridiculous. Think about it like this; if your friend told you they didn’t like pizza, but you love pizza. Are you going to stop being friends with them because they don’t like pizza? I hope the answer’s no, because it would be pretty ridiculous to cut someone out of your life over their preferred foods. So why should politics be any different?

First of all, there is no reason to even feel the need to share your political opinions. It’s not that hard to just keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself. My mom always told me that when she was a kid, she never heard her parents talk about politics. In general who you voted for was always a secret. It was considered polite to keep your political views a secret, and that’s how it still should be. People are way too comfortable sharing their opinions, from both sides. And second of all, there’s no need to fight with people over it. There’s so much hate and hostility in this world, why add to it by arguing with people over their opinions? In general, it is just unnecessary. 

If there’s anything I have taken from being a teen through the 2020 election, it’s that I will never allow myself to end relationships over my political opinions. I have seen way too many friendships end; I’ve even seen my own family at each other’s throats over politics, and I won’t allow myself to do the same.