It’s a month before election season, which means political conversation is impossible to ignore. A person can’t get on social media without seeing someone passionately defend their candidate or explaining why their opponent is completely unfit for office. Because the candidates happen to be near polar opposites, political emotions run wild at this time, and as October surprises start making the media rounds, the back-and-forth bickering will be at an all time high.
As college students, for many of us this is our first election in which we are able to partake and it’s easy to get caught up in the debate surrounding this election.
My advice: Do your best to understand where the other side is coming from, and choose your rhetoric carefully.
The arguments people are making about this election, online and in person, are all over the place. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, and it seems that when students are arguing, especially over social media, that the political discourse has resorted to name-calling and vague accusations.
I understand the result of this election has huge implications. If someone supports Hillary Clinton, I understand why they’re completely opposed to a Donald Trump presidency. And if someone is a Trump supporter, I can understand why they are adamantly opposed to a Clinton presidency. But some of the claims people are making are a tad ridiculous.
A Hillary Clinton presidency isn’t the end of the United States. Neither is a presidency of Donald Trump. Don’t fall under the typical October political narrative that this election will have apocalyptic results. This nation will survive no matter who wins November 8th. I promise you that.
Recognize that the opposing ticket isn’t inherently evil. Election cycles are the ultimate competitive game, and this October is the 4th quarter, so the final frenzy of persuading undecided voters is now. Since both candidates have high ratings of unfavorability, the campaigns are doubling down at presenting the other candidate in a negative light. This spreads down to the supporters which leads to some of the rhetoric that both sides are saying.
So when you share a Facebook status that is bashing one of the candidates, recognize that 1.) your friends are politically diverse and such rhetoric is usually a turnoff and 2.) that people are turned off to that sort of rhetoric because they assume you are unwilling to listen to the other side. It is possible to have a completely informative discussion between two opposing sides in a debate without the name-calling, the conspiracy theory arguments, etc.
Understand that both candidates have positive attributes. Each candidate has an appeal that has led them to win their respective parties’ candidacy. Each candidate has legitimate views that are shared with millions of people. They represent a large majority of people. So by insulting a candidate on his views, you’re also dismissing the millions of people who also have this view. If we all understand where the other candidate, and their supporters, are coming from, we might be able to have more civil political discussions.
It’s also extremely important to remember that each candidate is trying to improve this country.
So when you’re discussing this election with your friend, and you can’t possibly understand why your friend is supporting a certain candidate, do your best to understand their appeal. This mentality, if adopted, could lead to a much prettier 2016 election.