Can I Really Be Friends With You?

Anonymous Author

It’s incredibly sad to see how polarized politics has become, and how quickly a friendship can become distant when you talk about politics. This Fourth of July, I was thinking of our division – with some Americans following the advice of public health experts and not holding barbecues, others perceived a threat that has killed over 150k people as a hoax. I try not to become divided or have my friendships viewed negatively when someone explains their political views, but I find it harder and harder to do so.

How can I have a positive view of you when you support someone who rolled back anti-discrimination laws that protected the LGBTQ community? How can I be friends with you when you support a man who knew about COVID-19 since December but didn’t act at once, leading to the deaths of 150,000 people? How can I be friends with you when you support a man who called for the death of five innocent black men and refused to apologize for it? When a man who made fun of the disabled is someone you support, when you’re not upset that his criminal friends are getting away with crimes, I can’t ignore the bad light those views shed upon you. As the politicians you support classify “very fine people” as those generalizing Muslims as terrorists, how am I supposed to trust you?

You may not be racist, but simultaneously, you are a fan of a President who couldn’t even fathom that a black man was eligible to hold the same office. You may not be xenophobic, but you decided it was okay that asylum seekers were dying in cages with chemicals sprayed on them. In your defense, you say I like what he’s doing with the economy. Even though much of the economic success has been linked to the Obama administration, does the economy outweigh what he is doing to millions of people? Would you tell the innocent people being drone-struck that your view on the economy was the reason they got killed? A man who cuts taxes for the rich and takes away healthcare for the poor is something you admire? 

I wish politics was as simple as I thought it was when I was younger. I thought identifying with political ideology would be something like choosing which ice cream flavor you want. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and people get harmed due to the way you vote. I will never treat you differently because of the way you vote or the politics you support. But in the back of my mind, it will be hard to forget you can support recurring atrocities.