Politics is something that should be talked about constantly. No matter who you are, what your major is or what you want to do with your life, when you graduate, politics will affect your everyday life. So why wouldn’t you talk about it?

Unfortunately, due to the current political climate and administration, everyone seems to be shutting off from politics when it should be a motivator, especially in the classrooms.

Classrooms are a place for learning, and whether you are sitting down learning about public policy issues or dancing your heart out in a dance studio, politics can be a way of connecting and learning with your fellow classmates.

It takes a lot of courage to speak your mind about controversial issues, especially if you know your opinion isn’t a popular one – however, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. 

One should never be afraid of the clashing of ideas and beliefs as it provides us the opportunity to learn, and with learning comes growth.

I have a female teammate who is also a political science major but is on the other side of the political spectrum. My relationship with her is something I value deeply. As for the two academic years I’ve known her, we have been able to share our thoughts and beliefs with each other and are able to critique, discuss and learn from each other.

However, some students do believe there is a time and place for everything, and they do have a point.

There are some rare instances in which politics don’t really have a place. For example, you shouldn’t be learning calculus and suddenly bringing up the issue of abortion.

But usually talking about politics is justified.

The lack of conversation and understanding is what has drifted the political landscape to be so polarized. Political polarization is the concentration of ideologies in the extremes of the political scale.

This is a very big problem and is dangerous to the American people, as only extremely conservative or liberal laws would be passed, depending on which party has the majority.

The only way to do away with political polarization is to have political conversations early on. Have political discussions in the classrooms, at the gym, during dinner; it doesn’t matter.

Everyone should understand that even when you think you’re right, you might not be. Compromise shouldn’t be seen as a sign of weakness in the political word, but rather a sign of intellectual superiority and clear understanding that as long as it’s helping the American people, it doesn’t matter what party came up with it.

So please talk about politics now; it’ll fix all of our problems in the long run.