Last week during the election, I spotted an interesting trend going through social media. Online, people were reposting images reading “It doesn’t matter who you voted for this election, we are still friends,” or “Not all Trump supporters are racist, sexist, etc. respect others’ opinions.” The problem with this flawed logic is they seem to claim that politics really don’t matter and are a trivial thing to end friendships over.
I disagree with this idea wholeheartedly. Maybe at one point in time, politics were simply politics and were considered matters where only the wealthy and mighty cared about what happened. Lately in politics however, issues that should simply not be political, are.
Issues such as COVID-19, gay marriage, LGBTQA+ rights and equality for people of color have become matters that people disagree on, and vote over, bartering with people’s lives. It is okay to agree to disagree with friends. In fact it is healthy and beneficial to see others’ points of view. Yet when that “disagreement” bleeds over to people’s rights, wellbeing and identities, it takes on an entirely different significance.
Maybe when you vote for President Donald Trump, you’re seeing it simply as a “political matter,” voting for him because of his stance on gun rights, the economy or taxes. Yet doing this means you choose to ignore everything he’s ever said about minorities, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, other countries and women.
Voting for Trump means you made the decision that the integrity and safety of others simply doesn’t matter. It is one thing to vote for Trump due to fear of the economy crashing or the possibility of a new leader, but it is another to flaunt it and to be proud of it.
When LGBTQ members see someone sporting a Trump flag, they see the name “Pence” underneath. Pence is a candidate who is openly anti-gay, a fact that is acknowledged by Trump himself. When you fly Trump’s flag and vote for him proudly, you’re doing more than being political. You’re choosing to publicly associate with him and disregard all the critiques and concerns others have made about him.
Contrary to the beliefs of people posting these statements defending friendships, human rights and equality are not something to “agree to disagree over.” Perhaps politics are not an important matter in friendships simply because they don’t affect you. But just because it may not affect your life, doesn’t mean it won’t affect others. If your close friends and family speak to you of concerns for the election, for genuine fear of their rights and identities, politics stops being just “politics.”
Throughout the past four years we have witnessed a president draw unimaginable hatred out of the dark, create a divide between the American people, refuse to acknowledge or call out racism or discrimination and make many people ashamed to be Americans.
Nominating a president who oozes hatred, yet preaches to love your neighbor and respect their opinions is contradictory. Let your words reflect what they truly mean, and elect people who won’t make your friends and family have to disagree over human rights.
Dani Moore can be reached at [email protected].