Charlie and Maddie O, sisters in Atlanta, Georgia, have different political beliefs. When I talked with them last week, their hair was still wet from crew practice, a sport that requires intense teamwork. Off the water, their opinions on politics aren’t as in sync. In an election year and over the holidays, family conversations are bound to come around to the touchy topic of politics. Learning how to navigate disagreements with family can be hard.
Sometimes the sisters' conversations about politics can get heated, but they agree that looking at both sides of the story is crucial. “It is very beneficial to hear everybody's point of view,” Charlie reflected. “For every argument, each side has their fair share of reasoning, and it is important to always put yourself in other people’s shoes.”
This can be hard. We want our opinions to be heard. But sometimes facts can get lost when we’re too focused on our argument or opinion. “Never think you are 100% right. There are times when you will look at the other side of the argument and think it sounds absurd or ‘how could anyone think like this,’ but there’s a reason we have more than one party,” Charlie stated.
One way to think about this is that we're all on a spectrum - almost like a number line. Some people in your family may be really far to the left, to the right, or fall somewhere in between. A person can call themselves liberal and support certain conservative policies, but we just don’t hear a lot about this. Everything seems so black and white, right or left, liberal or conservative. And that makes everything feel so divided - which brought us to the topic of social media.
During the time of the election, Maddie saw this division first-hand. “I posted something about the election and whatnot and I lost 20 to 30 followers because people didn’t agree with me.” What Maddie posted isn't what matters, it’s that with a click of a button, you could really hurt someone’s feelings, or post something you would never say to someone face to face and spark negative emotion. One rude comment can send an even harsher message.
Social media is an opinion platform. But we rely on the news media to keep us informed. When news sources are giving us different “facts,” it’s hard to know what to believe. “Get the whole story instead of jumping to conclusions.” Maddie said. “Do some digging yourself on the situation if you want to be able to have a valid opinion.”
Maddie and Charlie have found healthy ways of gathering facts and respecting each other's point of view. In such a divided time, this conversation was a refreshing reminder that the best way to see where someone is coming from is to put yourself in their shoes.
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