With the presidential election coming and going, everyone is in a stressful panic to defend their choices and stances on politics which has contributed to some of the most volatile times in America.

Politics has always been a very taboo subject to tackle. Even before COVID-19, people would argue their stances on politics to the point of losing friendships or getting into fights with family members. With Joe Biden as President elect, the stress Americans have been feeling about defending their stance is starting to reach its limit.

Places like Twitter and Facebook have begun to become a central place to argue politics online no matter what stance you take and with COVID-19 which has, for the most part, kept people indoors and online, more political posts and discussions have popped up to spread more stressed and passionate discussions around the internet with the 45th president Donald Trump adding even more fuel to that fire with his constant tweets. 

The lengths of passion and anger people are getting about politics is beginning to cause genuine fear of potential protests and riots from the losing Republican party. This has escalated to the point that stores and houses are having to board up. Stores like Walmart are also having to stop selling guns because of the fear of civil unrest from the potential riots. This isn’t even taking into account how there are already ongoing protests happening in the US from the unethical killing of African-Americans which has led most Americans (while rightfully) to be more eruptive and tense than previously. 

There is nothing wrong with taking a stance on anything related to the election whether you’re left, right, down the middle, or whether you voted or not. However, the extent that people are going to is not only alienating friends, classmates, and family relationships, but also potentially putting both property owners and people’s well beings at risk. 

By continuing to stress about the potential future of America or protesting/rioting when the specific leader you chose didn’t get elected, you are contributing to a cycle of stress and violence by causing more people to worry, fear, and possibly hurt other people’s jobs, livelihoods, or even their lives. While, yes, it is important to worry about the future of America especially during the time of a big transition for our current leadership, keep in mind that changes aren’t going to immediately happen. Change happens with time so it is important to take a moment to have a breather, formulate your status to be a bit more formal, focus on the moment, and work things out as they come. 

It is fine to feel a certain way about a political stance and to even disagree with other people’s political stances cause that’s what makes people, well, people — having the ability to criticize each other. However, there is a difference between criticizing someone’s political stance or the work of a political leader and causing fires in the streets. Political stances should not alienate people to the point of anger or lead to becoming a trait of who you are as a person. Have a stance about politics. Don’t be a person characterized by or damage others because of politics.