There’s always been a hidden political or a straightforward message in films, speeches, music, literature, and art. Yet, those things never interfered with our personal lives, like relationships, school, and work. Throughout the years it seems as though politics have been breathed into every aspect of our lives and have made people wary, judgemental, and biased.

It used to be 'don’t talk about politics at family functions', now there are no boundaries. Perhaps being more aware of politics and the influence it has to do with growing up.

The Rise of Conformity

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There are times in everyone's lives––some more often than others––where we keep our mouths shut and give a slow nod when someone says something that we do not agree with. Times when we don't share our opinions in fear of being seen differently, misunderstood, or hated. It causes people to change their ideas, beliefs, and attitude when they are surrounded by certain people.

There has always been this social conformity, like in the 1950s with strict gender roles and economic shifts affecting people's cultural uniformity. Yet, it seems to be on the rise again. I've been in plenty of environments where I was too afraid to share my opinion because I knew I would be judged before I could explain my stance.

People only see two extreme sides, so anything that suggests you are on the other side, you would be viewed differently. As if one thing could define you as a person without asking why you believe such a thing or what your thought process is, people just put a label on you.

The interesting thing about this is people talk about individuality but conform every other aspect of their lives to trends, and whether you are a pre-teen, adolescent, or adult, it follows you throughout life. Which then affects the relationship in our lives because we only gravitate towards the people we believe share the same ideologies and views.

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Politics Consuming Personal Identities

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It is one thing when politics intertwine with personal identities and another thing when politics consume personal identities. The difference is one works simultaneously with various interests, ideas, and people, while the other can work solely with a particular idea, interests, and people.

People become less tolerable that way because they make it their whole personality, and if you don’t conform to that, you have no place in their life. There's no issue with that, one person exiling you; however, when a mass of people and institutions make such a move, there's nothing else a person can do aside from conforming. There’s also a difference between educating yourself on current events and running a mile with one article or clip.

In a recent study done with university students, it was discovered that eighty-eight percent of 1,452 undergraduate students privately interviewed at these institutions admitted to pretending to be more liberal than they actually are to make life easier. This would mean they lied to their peers and friends about their views and takes on certain things. I could only imagine how straining that was, not being able to express your true beliefs.

The Impact on Friendships

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It can go four different ways:

1. Deceiving your friends.

If you can’t be honest with your friends, why keep them around? It means you really say what's on your mind to the point you are just walking on eggshells. A beautiful thing about friendship is you can let your guard down without thinking too hard about what to say or what not to say.

Friendships are meant to be easygoing and a breath of fresh air, not suffocating. If you have to alter your beliefs and ideas, you are not only deceiving your friends but also yourself.

2. It puts a strain on your friendship.

This tension can be caused by always feel like you are being judged for what you believe in, not being able to be yourself, or your political views consuming your personalities to the point you can’t see eye to eye with each other. If you can't even see eye to eye with a friend, being able to have a conversation with them on your differences and similarities, what kind of friendship is that? I believe the more polarized politics becomes, the harder it is to accept those differences.

3. Never being friends to begin with.

Imagine never getting to know a person because you were too blinded by animosity and constricted views. You can’t judge a person just on their political views alone. It hinders different ideas, views, beliefs, and so much more from being discussed and communicated amongst each other.

To Sum It Up

I believe when you stop being friends or at least civil with people that see things differently from you, we lose the vision we want for our lives, future generations, and our nation. It makes everyone feel trapped in their own lives. We miss all kinds of opportunities to connect with people and be ourselves.