I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. ~ Thomas Jefferson to William Hamilton, April 22, 1800
It seems that political and social divisiveness has run particularly rampant lately (reference the recent ‘Who has liked Donald Trump’s page’ applet.) At times is ugly, quite ugly. Folks are fighting in open posts, de-friending one another, and, as I say it, using Facebook as a weapon. Are we really this immature as a culture?
While there are some acquaintances I have distanced myself from due to their negativity or toxicity in life, I have many friends with whom I simply agree to disagree. In this, are there moments in which my hackles are raised by a comment which is not in alignment with my belief system? Certainly. Do I lose sight of the fact that we have more in common than we don’t have in common? Absolutely not. In reality, the only person with whom I am in complete and utter agreement is me…and some days even that may be questionable.
For me, friendship is based in a shared mutual respect and part of that is the belief that the other person has a right to his/her own opinions whether or not they align with mine. As a self professed flaming liberal I have friends who run the gamut from liberal to conservative. As long as we maintain the foundation of respect, even when we disagree, we can remain friends. Sure I get tweaked once in a while by something which doesn’t match my belief system, but unless there is true malice afoot, I am a loyal and supportive friend. For all my platitudes, don’t be fooled though - given the right circumstances, a friendly debate, and a couple glasses of wine, I will still attempt to bring you to my side of an issue...respectfully. ~ Mk Michaels
