Have you ever left a conversation and thought to yourself, “What did that really accomplish?” I have found that these types of conversations often revolve around politics. With the Presidential Election right around the corner, more and more students find themselves engaging in these debates which usually end in frustration.

Many have witnessed televised debates and even done additional research to gather information about the most popular candidates. Opinions have been formed and debates are bound to happen amongst students. The fact that students are educating themselves is a positive trend, but the difference in opinions possibly leads to negative outcomes if left unchecked.

Freedom of speech is a right we all enjoy and should not be taken for granted. However, as teenagers it is easy for us to get carried away with our ideas. This is why unsupervised discussion of political opinions often ends badly. What starts as a simple statement can quickly escalate to a full-scale argument with no productive outcome. I try to avoid political topics for fear of starting conflict and while I cannot speak for others, I have a feeling I am not the only one who does this.

As teenagers, we are not mature enough to have an open minded political debate in most cases. There is nothing wrong with having an opinion, but once we try to force those opinions on each other any hope of an intelligent conversation goes out the window. We absolutely hate admitting when we are wrong and this shows when discussing politics. Saying something as simple as, “I’m a republican,” can start a full-scale verbal attack from someone with a different political alignment. People are often quick to argue and too stubborn to see other points of view.

We are young enough where we do not necessarily need to worry about politics. Older students will be able to vote for our next president and I am sure many will. However, the vast majority of us are still under the financial support of our parents. This is the time in our lives where we can enjoy being young instead of arguing over issues that don’t directly affect us at the present time.
Our parents also heavily influence our political beliefs. We are not necessarily regurgitating every word we hear around the house, but it is hard to form an individual opinion as a teenager if you are raised to take a certain side.

For students who are genuinely interested in learning about politics, there are many opportunities to share political ideas and opinions in a supervised setting. The Program of Studies 2015-2016 lists several social studies courses that study American politics including AP United States Government and Current Affairs, Contemporary Issues (H), and Law and Society (CP or H). Not only can students have more productive conversations, but they will also learn from teachers who have years of education on the subject.

We should all dial it down a little when discussing political views and save the heavy debating for the classroom. Teenagers are not the best candidates to discuss politics peacefully, but it is important to remember our opinions, no matter how popular, are not fact. If you are caught in a sticky situation where someone brings up a tough topic like politics, a little politeness goes a long way.