Politics. It’s a word that conjures up images of people yelling, the colors red and blue, and the ever present elephant and donkey. But like it or not, debating is the name of the game and there’s really no way to skirt around it. Luckily, in America we have been granted the privilege of free speech and we are at liberty to express our opinions. This is a fantastic thing – may we never take it for granted.

Just the other day, as I was strolling to my class in Sutherland, I noticed the Biola Democrats had put up signs containing quotes from Barack Obama. These signs contained short quotes in which he shared similar goals and sentiments to things Christians believe. On the corner of one I saw something that disgusted me. On the bottom corner of the sign, in black sharpie, someone had written, “That’s what she said.”

Now, I know “That’s what she said” is a joke popularized by NBC’s “The Office,” and it can be a hilarious joke to quote. I myself quote it every so often. But as I investigated into this further, I found out that the anti-democratic sentiment is rather high here on campus. From the various sources I’ve spoken with, they made it clear that their views were not given a fair debate but were shunned, laughed at and berated with anger.

This is not only uncouth, it is reprehensible.

As a lifelong Republican and conservative, I recognize that there are very few instances in which the two parties agree. There are criticisms, differential diagnoses of problems, and constant debating. As I said earlier, this is the nature of politics. The trouble comes when we forget with whom we are speaking. The person you are speaking to is not an enemy. They are not a foreign member of a different race. Neither are they an argument to be destroyed. They are a person, one fully loved and cared for by Jesus Christ himself. If you can’t remember the humanity of your opponent when debating or discussing politics, then you shouldn’t be talking about politics.

Back before society devolved into the current degenerate state it’s in today, there was a highly valued practice called civility. We need to resurrect this virtue, especially in regards to political practice. Don’t debate if you can’t be civil. Don’t opine if you can’t be civil. Civility is what separates us from barbarians and animals.