Daring To Disagree Is Reason To Be Really Excited

If fascism seeks to end of politics, why are we always so scared to “get political”?

Photo by Alex Iby

Francisco Franco once infamously told an unhappy journalist, ‘just do like me: don’t get involved in politics.’ Many have noted the blatant hypocrisy and outright cheek of the Spanish fascist leader’s piece of advice, but it only takes a little bit of reading to discover that he probably meant it. Similarly, Adolf Hitler once promised an eager crowd that he would put an end to the “mess” posed by parliamentary democracy. Indeed, the goal of fascism was never to win at politics, but to end politics altogether.

Almost a century later, it is unnerving how often a heated argument or even a rational discussion ends when some cool head stands up and proclaims, from the venerable height of their moral ground, that we shouldn’t get into politics but enjoy our drinks instead. Generally, I agree that fruitless arguments should be avoided, but so should spending time with people who aren’t eager to challenge their views.

Those around us shape us. Choosing who we spend most of our time with is one of the most important decisions we get to make. If those around us are unable to engage in conversations that make us better, that change our minds, that change theirs, that make us less…