The world is ever changing; communities fracture and mend themselves day by day. As political and social issues make their way to dinner tables and into classrooms, disagreement has become inevitable. People’s opinions of their friends and family are altered to the point of no return. The politicization of basic needs and standards has transformed everyday disagreements into personal conflicts that undermine productive conversation.
Politics made its way to Thanksgiving with my family this year. With it came loaded looks and unfiltered, uncited “facts” about nearly every issue imaginable. One side of my family has always been pretty quiet about their political beliefs; until recently, I didn’t know where they stood on many controversial topics. They seemingly never wanted to prompt a discussion, which they knew would escalate, so they stayed quiet. The other side of my family has always been openly political and left-leaning. Even so, we avoided discussion when it came to areas like vaccinations, abortion laws and other polarizing issues, because those conversations felt full of risk and fragility, too capable of ruining family festivities. What once could have been a civilized discussion has now escalated to the point where discussion feels like a threat to our familial relationships.
The divide doesn’t stop at family matters: it has spread to schools, friendships and daily life, where even the most practical of decisions are twisted into political statements.
A recent example of this is the controversy surrounding the font change in government documents, an issue that has somehow been politicized. Two years ago, the State Department switched its official font from Times New Roman to Calibri following the recommendation for changes from its office of diversity and inclusion. This change was made in part to help people with visual impairments and dyslexia, allowing them access and assistance in reading official text.
However, this change was recently reversed under the Trump administration, ordering the return of Times New Roman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the change to Calibri as “wasteful.” The effects of this decision were felt around the United States. Yet, this goes deeper than just the direct physical effects on those with reading or visual impairments: the statement of accessibility being “wasteful” sends a broader message to the public, especially to those with special needs who want to feel valued by society. After reading about the font change, I talked it over with my parents at dinner. They had a lot of interesting takes on the topic, but what stood out to me most was something my dad said: it was never truly about fonts, it was about symbolism. A choice made to improve accessibility, giving everyone equal access to understanding government documents, was reframed as a politicized action rather than a practical solution. But, for people with visual impairments, this decision was not political: it directly determined whether information was accessible to them. Even accessibility has become controversial because it’s associated with one political side.
This is the larger problem that needs to be discussed. Issues around accessibility, public health and simple accommodations are being weaponized for political benefit. Rather than focusing on practical and inclusive solutions that will benefit society, compromise is unattainable, as any claim or proposal made is quickly shut down by a member of the opposing political party, for no reason other than because of where or whom the idea came from.
Political discussions are not inherently harmful; in fact, debates and disagreements are healthy and necessary for a democracy. But at what point did debates become brawls, and empathy become distrust? Now, when every issue is politicized, discussion has stopped being productive. Disagreement has become more personal, and people are beginning to see opposing views as moral failures rather than differences in opinion. Families should not feel forced to choose between honesty and functionality, friends should not be constrained to political labels and communities cannot function, let alone thrive, when every decision is interpreted as an attack rather than an attempt to unite and solve a problem. When people don’t even attempt to listen, jump to conclusions and make assumptions, the feeling of community and unity that we strive to maintain deteriorates, and we’re left with a society full of distrust and division.
In order to mend the already broken communication within our society, we need to learn to separate politics from problems of equality, necessities and non-political issues, and be able to recognise and handle when they intertwine. Rather than making assumptions and getting defensive, we need to be able to have empathy, show understanding and most importantly, listen. When we listen, no matter how much our views differ, it shows that we care about that issue and are actively trying to compromise and come to a practical solution.
In classes, don’t be afraid to voice your opinion, but don’t completely disregard the differing opinions of your peers. Know how to carry out a debate respectfully and without letting it get in the way of personal matters, and remember that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no matter how different it is from yours. Until we can learn and understand how to actively listen and engage respectfully, in the coming years, division will deepen and overshadow any progress and productivity made.
