Posted on: Monday, October 27, 2008
Talking productively, about politics?
By Brian McDonald
HowToDoThings.com
The 2008 presidential election season is in full swing as Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain continue touting their leadership credentials and the vision of their respective parties.
Now is a time for all us lowly plebeians to flex our political muscles and make our voices heard. Political dialogue is crucial to the health of our democracy, so we should embrace, rather than shun, the conversations and debates we share with friends and loved ones.
In this divided climate, however, our political dialogue often either dwindles down to hushed misgivings or enters a realm of noisy, angry argument; both do us all a disservice. If we keep our mouths shut, the loudest and often most ignorant voices will hold sway. There are ways to discuss politics without the conversation dissolving into petty, mean-spirited bickering.
The first step for good political conversation is to be informed. When we discuss politics without actually knowing what we're talking about, we run the risk of irritating people and possibly even misinforming others. Entire campaigns of misinformation exist, and they don't need our help to spread falsehood and exaggeration! Don't rely on just one news source — question all of them. Be voracious in your pursuit of political knowledge.
The key is to discuss politics with civility and respect for all involved. No matter how passionately you disagree, it's important to keep the debate closer to smiles than to yelling and tears. How can you maintain civility? Don't raise your voice. Don't interrupt. Don't be arrogant. And don't get personal, either; bad arguments result from our tendencies to identify so strongly with positions and platforms that we automatically interpret political disagreement as a personal attack.
If you're discussing the election with your children to encourage an interest in politics, avoid condescension. Otherwise, they'll probably never want to discuss politics again, and might not ever make a strong effort to gain political knowledge. By the way, kids also dislike argument. Don't let political discussions with your spouse turn into screaming contests, because your kids will gradually associate politics with yelling and bad feelings. They have their entire adult lives to form those negative associations.
The final reason to be well-behaved? You usually win. Nobody likes to witness someone decompensate over politics.
Brian McDonald is a senior editor at www.HowToDoThings.com.
