Member-only story
Don’t Talk About Religion or Politics
The Absolute Turmoil We’ve Created By Polite Conversation
When I was in elementary school, my well-intentioned elementary school outlawed Pokémon cards. They were everywhere and the teachers were tired of trying to get us to focus on academics while little minds remained affixed to who had the shiny Bulbasaur. You’d think that this ridded us of “Gotta catch ’em all” fever, but really it just threw kerosene onto the issue. What was once a public activity was now relegated to corners of the playground, quick passes in the lunch line, and constant scheming to trade when the teacher wasn’t looking.
Similar things have happened in the 1920’s with alcohol. Taking booze off the menu just heightened the allure of speakeasies and underground distilleries.
Throughout history, it’s clear. When you take a “problem” away from people, you don’t actually address the problem at all. Our boring math teacher never got more engaging because they outlawed Pokémon cards. A country’s trauma never got resolved just because they criminalized everyone’s favorite coping mechanism. Removing a problem and addressing a problem are two very different things.
The first time I was told not to talk about religon or politics I was 10. Sitting around a family dinner table, I learned that some things…
