Opinion: This holiday season is a time to engage and recover

To whom it may concern,

Given the events that have unfolded over the past 48 hours, we believe that the holiday season should come early. We can probably hold out for another week or so, but then we all need to sit back and eat, vent and be together.

Let’s just go ahead and bust out the mulled wine, the peppermint chocolate and the warm mac ‘n cheese. Let’s put the Christmas music on and start taking stock of the wonderful things in our life.

An early Christmas would be an opportunity to reconnect as a community. This Christmas, instead of doing everything in our power to prevent political discourse from coming into the vicinity of the roast beast, we will jump at the opportunity to hear the (totally wrong) opinions of people we disagree with.

We will keep our ears open to listen and our mouths open to stuff in those mini chocolate Santas. And if Christmas can’t come early, we’ll settle for Thanksgiving.

But let it be known — after this respite, when our bellies are full of yummy food and our hearts are full of hugs from our little cousins and our great aunts twice-removed, we will be ready for action.

This is a little idealistic. While people who live in homes where everyone agrees politically — or everyone agrees to not talk about it — may not experience any hiccups, for the rest of the population, where these holidays may more resemble a warzone instead of a gathering, this holiday season will be emotionally and intellectually taxing.

Family fights can be the most brutal. How can one disengage or show hate to people they are so closely linked to?

Simply put, you cannot and you should not completely remove yourself. Your family can be the one place where you have the largest sphere of influence and a real opportunity to bring change. It may not seem like it during the argument, but your words probably matter a lot.

Moving out of this election season, understanding for opposing views is so, so important. For too long, people have not been engaging in their spheres of influence, and the country is worse off because of it.

Perhaps the most worrying thing we have seen this election season is the lack of empathy for people we do not understand. We think that developing a little more understanding toward people that vehemently, vehemently disagree with us can maybe do something to heal our country.

So maybe when offensive things get said around the dinner table or when a political disagreement breaks out, we can truly listen to those who oppose us. Even if we are forced to live under an administration that threatens our freedom, if we can learn to listen and bond with people who have very different views and pains, then we can take a step forward. Let’s talk, let’s engage and let’s let people know they are heard as we pass the eggnog.

Thanksgiving is coming, and, after the dark age of exams, there will be the rest of the holiday season. It may be tempting to just hide the entire month of December, but this is a crucial time to begin moving on from the election.

We should rest, we should continue to celebrate the holidays we love, we should eat the food that makes us happy and we should start organizing to defend our freedom.