Thanksgiving and Midterms
Don’t be concerned if the midterm elections are discussed at your Holiday gatherings this season!
As the midterm elections ended in the beginning of November, Thanksgiving dinner politics are looking to be very exciting. Like most dinner conversations with family, politics are usually always discussed. Sometimes families agree… but this is a very rare case. Leonia High School students will be asked about their political debates during Thanksgiving, and how they approached those awkward situations.
In Congress, the Senate remained its Democratic party majority, while the House of Representatives gained a Republican majority. With a Democratic President and divided Congress, passing legislation will become much more difficult. Results revealed that the approval rankings of our current President Joe Biden are extremely low. It also illustrated that most Americans are concerned with our collapsing economy in conjunction with the high unemployment rate.
To influence these decisions and results, the Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe V Wade allowed for Americans to lean extremely to the left or right politically. Matthew Priblo, a Leonia High School Junior states, “You always have that one uncle who is extremely conservative, and stirs up all the drama. The controversies of abortion is about to create some rather interesting conversations while eating turkey and potatoes. I am prepped and prepared.” The debate over abortions’ legality has a high probability that it will come up while eating some apple pie. Family members fight the most and the worst. Don’t be surprised seeing your grandma and uncle fight over something more than dinner rolls.
Mia Zaharvov, LHS student claims “My family likes to be nice to one another when dinner has just started. As the dinner progresses, and people have their second dishes, the conversations get more detailed. That’s when the fighting begins.” Mia’s family is very similar to all holiday dinners that people experience. Although the host will occasionally mention no political discussions, they are bound to happen.
The government is affected by society, and vice versa. The voter turnout for midterm elections is always much higher than the actual elections held every 4 years (for presidents in specific). Over the past 10 years, we have seen that people are ashamed of their political affiliations, and hide their true opinions. The media has allowed society to look down upon individuals with specific political opinions, when it is truly no one’s business.
“I know that we all have our different opinions, and I want to respect everyone. I have learned {after many Thanksgiving dinners} that the tone in which someone says something contributes to people’s reactions to statements. I remember one year, my uncle actually slapped my other uncle because of their different political opinions. It has become too serious,” Alidz Karakachian, a LHS junior noted. Extreme political topics such as abortion, the legalization of marijuana, and eliminating the electoral college has made American react in unprecedented ways. Being passionate about a topic does not support someone’s action in punching another family member.
For this holiday season, let’s remain civilized. Talk about your favorite holiday movies, meals, or songs! Political conversations are always bound to happen, but stay clear of unnecessary aggravation. Changing the opinion of your family members is less likely when you are about to pull one another’s hair off. Keep the fighting over food strong, but let’s all take a breath when political conversations arise.
