My parents are magnets when it comes to politics. My dad is the blue side, a true democrat at heart. Though, his views have slowly shifted overtime due to living in the south. On the other hand, my mom is a full-on red side republican. However, she does see my dad’s side of things and is open to new ideas. That is how they have been together for 21 years.
Living with parents from opposing political parties sounds much worse than it actually is. My dad never talks of politics. He doesn’t really care about it. My mom does, but she respects his beliefs on it. Even when it is brought up, they never fight.
The only time it becomes a real issue is when we go to my grandparent’s house. My mom’s parents — all they do is talk about politics.
I remember last summer in Richardson, Texas. The weather was quite hot. My family and I had just arrived at my grandparents house and they welcomed us in alongside my uncles. The conversation was going great until my mimi brought up immigration.
The conversation that was originally about catching up spiraled into something it should have not been. People were arguing about what we had no control over. It was probably the most unproductive 15 minutes of my life.
I looked to my side, seeing my dad on his laptop. His face was stern and wrinkled. I whispered to him, and we both agreed to go outside to take a breather.
My dad lit a cigarette. I started to kick at the rocks at the sidewalk.
“Are you okay, daddy?” I said.
He paused for a moment, but only for a moment before answering. “I don’t know why we are arguing about something that is out of our control.”
Once we went inside, apparently my mom and grandpa had smoothed things out with my mimi and everything went back to normal. However, my view on politics shifted that day.
We are all growing up with different experiences that shape us. Part of those experiences are how your parents raise you.
My family is accepting of all ideas and beliefs, as long as I am accepting of others. Especially in touchy matters like politics, we need to be able to agree to disagree and see all sides of the story.
At the end of the day, we will all have different beliefs on politics. We just have to learn to be understanding of one another. If you would like to find out your own political party, click here.