Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

How to talk politics with anyone

Trump

Benjamin Zack / Standard-Examiner via AP

A protester confronts a supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in downtown Salt Lake City as Trump gave his first campaign speech Friday, March 18, 2016, in Utah.

Congratulations, fellow Nevadan! You live in a swing state. That means that, unlike residents in most other states in the country, you should feel confident that your vote can make a difference in the election.

Like every other American, you have a choice. But with your swing-state status comes great responsibility. You can keep your opinions to yourself, sharing only with a couple of close friends and family members; you can blast them out boldly across the internet for all to see; or you can engage every stranger you meet to make sure they, too, want to Make America Great Again or are With Her.

If you choose to share said opinions, you may succeed in swaying some undecided voters. And if you do sway them, there’s a slightly less remote chance that you will make a difference in the overall election than if you lived in, say, California. (On the other hand, you may just make whomever you’re talking to really, really angry and have no impact on the election whatsoever.)

Regardless of whether you prefer staying quiet or piping up about your preferred candidate, we at The Sunday would like to suggest strategies for making it through the next few months with all of your relationships intact, whether with family, co-workers, your dentist or the guy bagging your bananas at the grocery store.

Talking to family

The thing about family is that, for better or for worse, you’re stuck with each other. Hopefully this means that even if you find yourselves ensnared in a political discussion, you can put your differences aside at the end of the day to share a meal or watch a movie.

1. Stuff your face with food (avoidance). It seems like most political battles come up over food. The good news is that food is also the perfect prop to help you get you out of answering uncomfortable questions.

It’ll at least buy you a couple seconds so you can compose yourself. Use that time to collect your thoughts — and emotions — before responding.

2. What is your grandma/stepuncle/second cousin once removed actually saying? This one might seem obvious, but listen. If they’re talking about a candidate, what are they saying they like about that candidate? If they’re talking about an issue, on what facts are they basing their opinions?

Put aside the assumption that you know all of the facts. Unless you are a robot who does nothing but consume political journalism, read books about politics and moonlight as a political science professor, you probably don’t know all the facts. (Even then, you probably still don’t.)

Also, even if you consider yourself a reasonably intelligent person, consider the possibility that your own worldview may have skewed the way in which you view the facts.

3. Try to understand where they’re coming from. Remember that many of your family members grew up differently than you. Your 75-year-old father and 19-year-old nephew experienced vastly different worlds.

Think about the individual circumstances behind each relative’s stance. Some things to consider: the time period of their formative years, where they’ve lived, their race, gender, economic situation and religion.

It might give you a little perspective on where a family member is coming from, especially if his or her background differs significantly from yours.

4. Explain your point of view, and admit when you’re wrong. Once you have a handle on allowing others to have their opinions and the courtesy of your open ear/mind, you can calmly explain your point of view. Try to stay away from emotional arguments and stick to facts if you disagree with something a family member has said.

At the same time, be prepared to concede a point. While there is such a thing as “winning” an argument, consider your relationships and the costs of asserting your correctness when you know you’re wrong. Even when you’re right, acknowledging that someone has made a good point or saying that you haven’t thought of something doesn’t make you weak — it shows you’re open to engaging in a thoughtful dialogue.

Try also to find points you can agree on. If you can find some common ground, the conversation will be more meaningful. And functional.

5. If all else fails, find a way to end the conversation. If you feel like the conservation is just coming back to the same set of points, or if it’s veering into less-than-factual territory, agree to disagree.

You can redirect to a new topic or suggest that your family participate in a different activity, like playing a game — unless you’re one of those families that gets really intense about Monopoly, in which case maybe politics is a safer bet ...

Talking to a casual acquaintance

Maybe you’re checking out at the grocery store. Maybe you’re chatting with other parents at your kid’s soccer game. Maybe you’re lying in the dentist’s chair, feeling slightly vulnerable with a variety of sharp tools a little too close for comfort.

It’s more than reasonable to expect that in at least one of these situations, politics will come up. It might be a quick question — What did you make of that attack ad? — and you probably won’t have more than a minute or two to respond. Consider what kind of discussion you might be able to have in that time-span.

If you want to simply dodge the question, here are some ideas:

• In an elevator: "I don’t really follow politics.”

• At the grocery store: "That was an interesting point brought up by [candidate’s name]. Can you do a price check for me on those bananas?”

• At the dentist’s office: “Wasn’t that crazy? What did you think about it?” By then, hopefully the dentist’s fingers will be in your mouth and you won’t be able to talk.

Talking to a co-worker

Methods for dealing with family also apply to workplace situations, but there are extra factors you might want to consider when deciding how to talk about politics with coworkers.

• Try to avoid the subject. Ask yourself whether talking about politics will distract you from your job or strain your relationships with people you have to work with on a daily basis. Keep in mind that many of your coworkers are likely to have significantly different political views than you, and any discussion could throw the office environment out of whack.

• Have responses prepared in case it comes up. Even if you try to avoid it, politics is likely to come up in the workplace — often just as idle break-room chatter. If you don’t want to engage, think of some quick, neutral ways to answer and move on, like acknowledging that you haven’t paid that much attention to the election or pointing out how unusual the whole election season has been.

• Be respectful. If you do end up in a conversation about politics, be sure you make your arguments in a reasoned, calm way and that you consider what your coworker is saying. If you feel uneasy at any point, be direct in saying that you don’t feel comfortable having that kind of conversation in the workplace.

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