The Wisconsin Union Directorate Society and Politics Committee (WUDSOPO) held a “Politics Over Pie” workshop at Memorial Union on Tuesday, giving students strategies to navigate political conversations with family members this holiday season.
For many, Thanksgiving signifies a time of gratitude and connection. However, it is also one marred by contention, especially as viewpoints spanning the political spectrum converge and clash at the dinner table.
WUDSOPO Associate Director of Programming Tess Purin and WUDSOPO President Shahd Abdel-Wahab started the workshop by addressing the increased political polarization and volatility in the United States following the Nov. 5 election.
“I think a big thing we’ve learned, especially the past few weeks, is [that] it's a very divided country and world. You will constantly be running into people that you disagree with,” Purin said.
Current political climate introduces new challenges
Political polarization is a topic Wisconsin knows all too well, with five of the last seven presidential elections decided in the state by less than a point.
The heated political environment following the election can make talking with relatives during the holiday season even more impossible due to generational divides and the zeitgeists that form their values.
However entrenched your relatives’ views may be, WUDSOPO recommends being confident when speaking your mind while also actively listening to others.
Students were shown a clip of U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talking to undecided voters — “1 Politician vs. 25 Undecided Voters” — as an example of how to converse about politics with those you may disagree with.
Buttigieg, a member of the Democratic Party, is well known for going on conservative outlets such as Fox News to share his opinions despite strong disagreement with hosts.
Putting it into practice (and perspective)
Students had a chance to practice the strategies from the workshop in a light-hearted debate. Topics included the existence of aliens in the universe, if cereal is a soup and waffles versus pancakes.
As the topics at the dinner table may become more heated, Purin and Abdel-Wahab recommend having a trusted person with whom you can debrief and vent.
Through respectful discussion (and pumpkin pie), Purin and Abdel-Wahab made it clear to students that you are not going to change your relatives’ minds.
It is in human nature to reject being wrong, Purin said. She expressed her hopes that because students are able to debate lighter topics, they can sit at the dinner table more confident talking about weightier ones.
