How To Survive Your Political Thanksgiving
Congratulations, you’ve made it to the fourth Thursday of November. If you’re a student, you’ve been looking forward to this time off since your last vacation. If you’re a full-time worker, you’re hopefully enjoying a well-deserved break from your busy schedule. No matter who you are, we’ll all be spending some time with our extended families. This means any conversation could turn political. To combat that, here is Crit-Large’s guide to surviving political discussion at Thanksgiving.
You’ll need to be able to identify the family members who are going to give you the most grief. Here’s a list of four folks you might encounter and how to deal with each of them:
The Essential Oil Aunt: This is your aunt who is really into the “all-natural” everything and most likely has vibrant colored hair. She’s probably going to have some strongly-held negative views of the president, or any Republican for that matter. Your best bet is to keep the conversation on topics such as where your family wants to go on vacation or the best organic recipes. Whatever you do, don’t mention the economy.
Uncle MAGA: You’ve heard it all from him. Unemployment is at its lowest, the youth these days are going to ruin this country, Greg Gutfeld is hilarious, and he uses the term “libtards” quite liberally. It doesn’t matter what the topic is; if it’s good, we can thank the president, if it’s bad, Trump is simply the victim. In order to keep your sanity, it’d be best to slip away to grab seconds on the turkey when he brings up his brand new Trumpy Bear.
Politically Illiterate Cousin: At least with the other two, they had a general idea of what’s going on in society. This cousin knows about as much about our political system as I knew about physics when I was a toddler. That doesn’t stop them from holding opinions, even if they are just talking points from their favorite Comedy Central talk show host. We advise giving these well-meaning cousins a gentle nudge in a better direction. Show them sources such as National Review, Axios, or maybe even us right here at Crit-Large.
The Ever-Elusive Centrist: This family member is rarer than any other. They aren’t swept up in the identity politics from either side and will engage in conversation with civility. Their biggest weakness is that they are perceived as weak because they aren’t on either extreme, but this could be their biggest strength.
In all seriousness, political conversation can’t be completely avoided as it’s woven into the fabric of our society. Ultimately, if you can’t find that ever-elusive centrist, hopefully it can be you, reader. Use the dinner table as a place to bring people together and lift up the ideals that we all know make this nation unique to the other post-industrialized and capitalist states. After all, that’s what Thanksgiving is all about!