Friendship can be considered a very strong relationship that has numerous advantages to one’s well-being, including improving an individual’s overall happiness and providing trust and emotional support. Friendships do, however, come with difficulties; it can be hard to maintain relationships and manage conflicting beliefs.
Politics heavily influence society, which can cause many to feel isolated from others. It can be difficult to manage friendships, when it comes to clashing political beliefs. The question one must ask themselves is whether ending a friendship is necessary when a disagreement occurs about politics.
Some may argue that one isolating themselves from another due to politics, can be very ignorant. In a way, it is important to acknowledge different ideas, because it helps people better understand society. However, when someone’s political point of view is considered morally wrong to one’s own, then it’s important to consider how much value is held in that friendship. Different ideas are acceptable, until one’s political beliefs hurt another.
It is necessary to understand that when it comes to one’s morals, it can be almost impossible to change someone else’s. One should not go into a conversation convinced they can force a friend into following their own beliefs. To some, certain political topics are more prioritized than others because of how they were raised. Morality comes from one’s upbringing and how they see the world. People’s morals are what divide individuals into different political parties and it is important to understand that one can not entirely change someone’s political views.
Since one can not change another’s morals, it can be hard to manage having a friend with an opposing political stance. By having open respectful conversation, it can help create a common ground and help one better understand their friends. It is also important to set boundaries; not every topic needs to be talked about, especially if maintaining a relationship with someone is more important. Often, it is better to end a conversation without agreeing instead of fighting with someone and hurting their feelings. Ending a conversation without agreeing allows a peaceful conversation to happen and for friends to not necessarily end with a resolution, but a chance to still express their feelings.
People have many different types of friends, different relationships are created to fill specific aspects of their life. Individuals have friends to make them laugh, or a friend that gives good advice. All people have friends for multiple purposes, because they provide support, amusement and advice. None of these types of relationships need to include politics. If politics is a very important topic to someone, then they should find friends that support their ideas instead of forcing others to conform to their own.
