On November 5, 2024, the United States held its presidential election for the 47th President of the United States. Over the course of this election, both the Democrats and the Republicans have become polarized to one another.
According to Newsweek, around one in six Americans are breaking up with their partners due to differences in political views, and disdain between the two parties are at an all-time high with a 37-42% increase from 1994. Due to this increase in rancor between parties, it raises the question: are different political views a deal breaker in relationships?
In a 2022 study conducted by Pew Research Center, both Democrats and Republicans view members of the other party as more dishonest, immoral, and unintelligent than ever.
In 2016, 42% of Democrats said that Republicans were dishonest, which increased by 22% when asked again in 2022. In the 2022 study, 72% of Republicans saw Democrats as dishonest people, which is a 27% increase from 2016.
Most people tend to be unwilling to compromise their beliefs, so not having that connection that occurs with having the same beliefs as your friends can lead to stress and uncomfortable situations.
Healthy relationships with friends, according to the American Psychological Association, can increase the feeling of fulfillment in one’s life, make them less depressed, and decrease chronic illness. However, unsupportive and low-quality friendships can lead to premature deaths twice as likely to happen, which is an even higher risk than smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
In another study conducted in 2022, APA researchers found that people with less support from friends had more anxiety, depression, and problems with academic adjustment.
Having supportive friends is important for one’s mental health, so to surround yourself with people that are not supportive of your moral beliefs and political views can actually cause anxiety and depression.
In response to this question, WHS senior, Sofia Fiorvanti, said, “A relationship should be based on an equal respect for one another. If the person I was with voted for someone who made the executive decision to leave my rights up in the air for anyone to advocate against, then they ultimately do not respect me, and I do not respect them.”
Politics may be polarized today, but that does not mean that relationship growth should be stunted by that revelation. People should strive to embrace other ideas and further develop their own understanding of topics today.
According to Psychology Today, solid relationships depend on a sense of duty, pleasure, and empathy from both people in the relationship.
In a solid relationship, both parties will be able to interact and discuss their differing beliefs respectively because they share a sense of pleasure in the fact that they understand each other and their boundaries. They share a sense of duty because they have an understanding with one another that you will act in the best interests of the other instinctively. Both parties also have a high level of empathy towards the other and try to understand where they are coming from and what motivates those beliefs.
In a solid relationship, they understand that no person is right or wrong in their belief system and that you will not always agree with the other person, but have compassion and understanding no matter where their morals and beliefs lie.
If people in a relationship understand that the basis of their relationship should be respect and understanding, they will keep a healthy and solid relationship. In relationships built on respect and understanding, according to the American Psychological Association, both people involved will feel fulfilled and experience less depression.
Adam Balfour, a junior at Waterford High, and Elizabeth Olmstead, a sophomore, understand that respect and understanding is the most important thing in their relationship when it comes to their different political beliefs.
Olmstead said, “I feel that even though we do have different opinions on this specific topic, we still respect and support each other’s opinions and beliefs. We don’t let our different opinions get in the way of our relationship.” Balfour said, “We understand that we like different political leaders and we chose not to discuss it because nothing good would come out of it.”
