Ever since the election of Donald Trump, it seems like politics is all that matters. For many years politics didn’t seem to matter in picking your friends but that has definitely changed. Politics has dominated the news and political parties seem to be moving farther and farther apart. This political extremeness has made it very hard to have friends on the other side of the aisle. I have watched friendships be destroyed because of a difference of opinions on something as simple as their opinion of the president. This needs to change. Friendships don’t come from politics.

While it may seem that having different political affiliations would be the same as having completely different values, that typically is not true. In fact, friends that identify with different political parties are much closer politically than they would think. According to Psychology Today, having different political views as a friend is very different from believing in different things. Friends typically share a few key issues so it is important to not get bogged down in the more polarizing issues and focus on the things that you can agree on, especially things that aren’t political..

In addition, having a friend with different political affiliations may yield many benefits. According to the same Psychology Today article, having friends with different beliefs helps you understand issues better by seeing it from a new perspective. Seeing issues from new perspectives not only makes you more informed, it also helps you to respect people you don’t agree with. A little bit of discussion and debate about current issues will expand  your world view.

The idea that politics and friendships don’t mix is false. Just being respectful to others’ political beliefs makes a world of difference and helps you become a more open minded person. If we keep making politics a driving factor of friendships, people will never be able to learn to see the world from another point of view.