Political Jungle
When to talk or not talk about Politics!
Where to talk or not talk about Politics!
It does’t matter whether you have election in near future or not, interestingly nothing invites a debate quite like politics. Sometimes keeping your opinion to just yourself is difficult. People like to talk about politics in small gathering, party or during extended family dinner and among work place friends. Initially it seems like interesting but when people in the gathering are from two opposite parties, then your political discussion can turn into heated debate and that is when it turns ugly. If it continues to be an ugly then that debate can become heated argument, which can spoil the mood of the party and can spoil your friendship going forward. So why do all these ? I think we should not start or participate in such debate if we are not ready to respect each other’s political preferences and affiliation. So be cautious next time you start such chatter. We should also understand the surrounding before we start such debate because there are such time when it is not appropriate, for example if gathering is of sad purpose (Funeral), job interview and in the religious places.
Political discussions are always one hundred percent biased. Such discussions are not performed with open mind. Person in the discussion are not ready to yield to other person’s good reasoning if it does not belongs to his preference of political party.
Bringing up political issue is like throwing a dead cat in the room. You don’t know who in that room has what political point of view. So if you’re bringing up politics – and the strong point of views that other people may not agree with – higher chances are, those in your company might not like it and going forward feel uneasy in the discussion which can further increases the distance among you.
We should sense the situation before we start such political discussion, if needed we should not go into or start such thing. We should also understand during such debate, the fine line between discussion and arguments. At the end of the discussion or debate both parties are ok but at the end of arguments no one is happy. So why argue?
Unless you already know you’re speaking with a close friend, or with someone who you know shares your beliefs, it’s often best to walk/talk carefully, and in many social settings, just avoid such topic.
It is better to avoid such kind of discussion and for the good reason just either use the diversion approach, to just change the subject or use the direct approach to gently request other person to just stop the uneasy discussion.
Sometimes, even when you try to stop the conversation, there’s that person who just won’t drop/leave the subject then you can say that you have not yet decided or evaluated the candidate hence you are undecided, so you cannot contribute anything to this political discussion.
On the very positive side of another approach is to change the subject matter to something the other person really cares about. Asking them about something they’re really passionate about besides the interest of politics will help you to end the debate without any verbal hurt/wounds.
If needed do your homework or research your subject and keep yourself informed before you open your mouth. Daily reading of the news papers and staying up to date on current events, so you’re able to back it up what you’re saying with concrete facts. This will justify why your view align in a certain way. I believe, this kind of approach not only will help you put your justifications and facts on the table, but to some extent it will help the conversation turn to a more meaningful and productive one. This way it is going to encourage more of a factual and intellectual conversation, instead of just a war of opinions and counter-opinions.
But whatever it maybe, perhaps talking about politics can be sometimes uncomfortable and dicey, but it’s also important for staying informed and keeping the pulse of democratic process alive. In fact in this civilized society, frank conversation about politics is really vital component of any democracy, but it’s got to be healthy, meaningful, respectful, courteous and civil. Beyond all this, don’t just discuss or argue on politics, if you don’t vote in the general election rightly, otherwise you will have to do this kind of political discussions very often.
To keep the spirit of democracy alive, participation in voting by each civilized citizens are key to the success of any democracy. Walk your own talk by casting your vote to most deserving candidate who is important for your state and country.
Believe it or not, most democracy fail because bad politicians are the one elected by good citizens who don’t vote in democracy.