PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As we gather for a holiday meal next week – whether in person or online – it's inevitable the recent presidential election will surface in the conversation.
A Rutgers-Camden English professor advises – tread lightly.
William Fitzgerald, who specializes in rhetorical studies, said dinner conversation may not be the time to revisit the divisive presidential election.
"The election was in November and now we're in December and soon we'll be in the new year and we'll have a new president coming in," he explained. "I think it's important that we don't continually re-litigate the election season just past."
Fitzgerald advised a good listener can learn much.
"Rather than talking all the time, ask good questions of the people that you know and care about," he suggested. "Find out what motivates them. Find out why they believe what they believe. Turn it around instead of speechifying and arguing."
He said you may want to consider some ground rules before heading to the dinner table.
"What are you looking for in your friends and family?" he asked. "If you're looking for sparring partners and that's what you enjoy and they enjoy it, too, then have it.
"But not everybody wants to continually talk politics at all times, so, remember what else brings you together. Why are you at this table? Or, why are you on this Zoom conversation?"
Fitzgerald suggested don't let politics dominate the conversation.
"Think about other things as well whether it's your family members, your hobbies, the sports teams that you like," he said. "In other words, remember you are more than just a person with a D or an R after your name."
Finally, Fitzgerald advised considering what's really behind this annual gathering – as small as it might be this time.
"We have a period of time to remember what brings us together rather than what keeps us apart," he said. "If we want to set a different tone nationally, we have to set a different tone right in our own backyard."
