Recently, my sister came home after volleyball practice mad because two of her closest teammates told her that they didn’t want to be friends anymore because she has left-leaning political views. One year ago, these girls were having weekly sleepovers, going out together, or talking about the hottest volleyball or middle school drama, but now, they are drifting apart because of politics, torn apart over different beliefs.

Though, refusing to talk to someone over politics is only the surface of the political polarization running rampant in our country right now.

The verbal harassment, refused relationships, and even death threats that cloud our political environment create a toxic atmosphere, driving a rift between Americans and adding to political animosity, according to Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan group based in Washington D.C. that does public polling.

I cannot expect us to always come to an agreement when discussing politics. In fact, America has never fully agreed politically because we are built on a two-party system. Democrats and Republicans are set up to coexist cordially within our government. Although recently, political polarization has escalated as our current president, Donald Trump, has sparked deep-rooted political arguments, leaving left and right wing political parties, moderate and extreme, attacking each other for differing political opinions.

This has been glaringly apparent to me whenever I come across a video on social media that briefly mentions politics. There is always someone in the comments from the other side belittling the person who posted the video, either with a meme or harsh words. No one is going to learn to get along if we continually rip each other apart for different beliefs.

These instances have only contributed to the growing animosity, with 77 percent of Republicans believing that left-wing extremism is a problem while 76 percent of Democrats believe the same thing about right-wing extremism, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. Even though extremist groups only constitute a portion of our political climate, finding anybody’s belief system a threat to our country is concerning, considering that the far left and far right have coexisted for years.

The political polarization has even gone further by morphing into heightened political violence, with targeted political violence growing by over 30 percent since 2024, according to the Bridging Divides Initiative, a non-partisan research initiative through Princeton University to mitigate political violence in America.

The second that anyone gets hurt on account of politics should be the moment we collectively agree that our beliefs have led us too far adrift. No drop of blood should be spilled to make a political point, it will only create a deeper divide.

Political polarization is ripping America apart, and unless people can engage in a civil manner when discussing different ideologies, it is dangerous to engage in political debates because they only divide the left and right even further.

When Americans allow themselves to feed into the violence and hatred that is fueling our political climate right now, we lose the whole point of talking about politics. We should be free to support what we believe without being seen as a threat to our country, or without feeling threatened by someone who disagrees with us.

I have almost ventured down the path of tearing down others’ political views, it is a difficult thing to avoid when you have a strong belief system, but I have realized that there are ways to let go of my hot-headedness. I have started to take steps back, take deep breaths and calm down before letting myself get caught up in a frenzy of what I believe is right. It is difficult to disagree with someone and do it cordially, but when I allow myself to stand my ground while keeping rude words inside, I find that those are the best conversations that I have relating to politics.

Political debates lose all integrity when they get out of control, when they start to include things like insults, harassment, or in some cases, violence, but when they are respectful, political debates fuel a healthy community in our country—a community that exists with Democrats and Republicans, a right and a left, one where different ideas comfortably fit together.

A divided America will only hurt our future, while an America with opposing ideologies that coexist respectfully will make us stronger.