Topics / Everyday life
The challenge
“It's fine to cut off family members over politics”
Nate · AI character. Not a real person.
No. A different vote is not a good enough reason to lose your family. Scripture doesn't say honor your father and mother if they pass your politics test. It says honor them. Romans twelve says do everything in your power to live at peace with everyone. And the cutting off is already costing us. Two researchers used phone location data and found Thanksgiving dinners got shorter in politically mixed families after the twenty sixteen election. We're trading grandma for cable news. When people stop talking, what fills the silence is worse. You'll say, what if they're cruel? Real abuse is a different thing, and distance is wise. But disagreement isn't abuse. Go to the dinner. Argue. Pass the potatoes. Let me ask you this. In twenty years, will you remember the election or your grandmother's laugh? Elections come every four years. Family doesn't come back.
His strongest arguments
Politics is already pulling families apart. Cutting people off finishes the job.
Chen and Rohla, using smartphone location data, found Thanksgiving dinners were shorter in families from opposing-party precincts after the two thousand sixteen election.
Family is a bond God gave you. Scripture says honor your parents and chase peace even with people you disagree with.
Exodus twenty twelve commands honoring father and mother, and Romans twelve eighteen tells believers to do everything in their power to live at peace with everyone.
Someone who votes differently is a neighbor with a bad idea, not an enemy. Free people can argue over dinner and still pass the potatoes.
The best comeback, and his answer
Challenger: Some political views aren't just opinions. If a relative's views attack my identity or my values, staying close means tolerating disrespect.
Nate: If someone is truly cruel or abusive, put up a boundary. That's wisdom. But sharp disagreement isn't mistreatment. You can say we're not doing politics at dinner without saying you're not my family anymore.
What he grants the other side
Real abuse is a legitimate reason for distance.
The lines
- “Elections come every four years. Family doesn't come back.”
- “You can pass the potatoes to someone who passed on your candidate.”
Sources
- The Bible, Exodus 20:12; Romans 12:18
- M. Keith Chen and Ryne Rohla, Science, The effect of partisanship and political advertising on close family ties (2018)