Keeping politics off your plate
Every four years, a presidential election falls just two weeks before Thanksgiving dinner, threatening to turn an otherwise warm family gathering into a heated battle of ideas.
“The last thing that any family wants to deal with is any kind of contentiousness during the family get-together that is probably the single biggest family day of the year,” said Jerry Shuster, a professor who teaches presidential rhetoric and political communication at University of Pittsburgh.
“That’s probably the worst day of the year that people would want the primary focus to be a contentious political discussion.”
But with tempers still flaring between Trump and Clinton voters as the president-elect builds his Cabinet, keeping the family dinner civil may be a challenge for some families.
“That’s the sad part of such a divisive campaign is that people don’t seem to want to let it drop,” Shuster said.
But Michael Pecosh, a licensed professional counselor in Washington, has some recommendations for keeping the peace if politics make their way to the dinner table.
Pecosh recommends conceptualizing political discussion into preferences instead of demands. For example, a Clinton supporter can say they wish the election went their way instead of saying it should have went their way.
“There’s no law of the universe that says that people have to agree,” Pecosh said.
In his experience, Pecosh said he believes people just want to have their opinions heard and don’t necessarily need their family members to agree with them.
“Sometimes it’s about politely listening and saying something to the effect of ‘You gave me something to think about’ or ‘I guess I didn’t see it that way.'” Pecosh said.
In the case of family members who have already began a heated argument, Pecosh recommends avoiding direct confrontation to alleviate the situation, but instead using a quiet redirection, such as suggesting that they can “agree to disagree” and try to turn the discussion to another topic.
“Let’s try to redirect and remember why we’re here.” Pecosh said. “This is about family and gathering in a spirit of thankfulness and gratitude, and not to argue the finer points of U.S. geopolitical policy.”
While passions are still running high from this election – which Shuster notes is “so prominent in the news, and it’s not like other past elections where what’s occurring is normal protocol” – he did note that there’s something unique to our area that might help keep political discussion to a minimum Thursday.
“The Steelers have a game that night.”