Yes,
Friendships can overcome politics By: John Raspante Staff Writer Politics have never been an important part of my life, and even though I have been able to vote for a few years now, I don’t identify with one party or another. When an election is coming up, I simply look at the candidates and what they stand for and choose my side based on whichever one I feel will be the best for the country and my family, regardless of their political background. Due to how little focus I put towards politics in my own life, I don’t judge my friends based on their political standings. I judge them based on how they treat me, their friends, family and others. I am almost positive that some of my friends have similar political beliefs to me; and even though others may disagree completely with my judgments, that doesn’t matter to me. What these individuals believe in does not define them, no matter the circumstance. These friends of mine are still going to be my friends no matter what because I love and respect them for the people they are. I have talked to one of my friends about this topic and she feels the exact same way as I do. One of my closest friends, University of St. Francis (USF) sophomore Jessica Scroppo, believes that “Friends can 100 percent have differing opinions on political beliefs, but they should always be able to respect those differences if that friendship is important to both of them.” My friends and I really only talk politics when there’s a big election coming up like there is right now. When we do discuss the topic, it is always a very eye-opening experience for all of us. Being able to talk about politics, especially with friends or other people you care about, is a great thing because we really get to see what matters to the other person and what they believe will help benefit our society as a whole. Also, we’re able to see how these friends feel about specific controversial topics that are going on in the world and how they want problems to be resolved. By having these discussions, it allows us to see certain issues and problems from a different angle, while also giving a better overall understanding of these conflicts. All in all, political beliefs should never have any effect on a friendship. True friends will care for and support one another no matter what they believe in or who they endorse. According to www.psychologytoday.com, if you can walk away from a political discussion where you settle on ways that you’re both right, you’ve not only saved your friendship, but you’ve also embodied what democracy stands for— the individual freedom of thought.
"By having these discussions, it allows us to see certain issues and problems from a different angle, while also giving a better overall understanding of these conflicts." 32
November 2, 2020
