All you can Eat Charcuterie, All Parties Invited — A (Food) Blogger’s Thoughts on Political Discussion in 2025

Oh hey, it’s been a while.  I’ve been a little more quiet on social media lately because it seems to be a very loud place right now (politically speaking) and not in the greatest way (in my opinion).  But you know, sometimes ignorance is only bliss for so long and I’m tired of biting my tongue.

I know I once said baking and politics don’t mix well, but I’m having my cake and eating it too on this one. And while I know full well this could be a recipe for disaster, the feedback I’ve received so far (and on Facebook of all places) has proven otherwise.

The following paragraphs are quoted from a post I wrote earlier after being fed up with all the hate I’ve been seeing surrounding political discussion, particularly on (you guessed it) Facebook. Feel free to give it a read (or don’t). However, much like the truth that we are so often reluctant to face, it’s here.

“I know I said I wasn’t going to get into politics on here anymore, but I’m changing my mind (to the occasional post). I mean, we are allowed to change our minds, right? Or not? Because let me tell you, most people I’ve seen in the newsfeed lately don’t seem to be very open to gaining new perspective or respectfully challenging others with their perspectives either (this goes for all sides of whatever political argument you want to get into today). Seriously though, the amount of hate I’ve seen in the newsfeed lately over which political figures, ideologies, etc. people support is exhausting. What happened to respectful discussion and debate? All I ever see lately on here is people hating on each other with no actual meaningful dialogue. People want to open their mouths while keeping a locked mind. People say they want change, but only want to talk about change with people who share the exact same beliefs, so where does that “change” then come in? Where is it happening? If you’re so passionate about what you stand for, why not try to carry on a conversation beyond the like-minded and potentially change the minds of others for the greater good? Or at least try? I mean, isn’t that what you want? Or is it that you actually just wanted to hear yourself talk and not give anyone else the time of day, and whoever doesn’t automatically believe what you believe can gtfo, or the ones you’ve decided to “keep” on your “friends” list, you’ve kept just so you can wait for the next opportunity to belittle them instead of trying to educate them? Because that’s what it seems like.

I swear most people on here wouldn’t dare talk to people face to face in the way they do on Facebook. And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being passionate and firm about what you believe in, and yes people have a right to be upset about things, but how do you expect to make any progress if being angry is all you’re running with? How can you expect to see anything change if you can’t open your mouth without closing your mind? How can you be heard if you can’t set your ego aside for a single second and allow anyone else respond or challenge your viewpoint? Someone disagrees with you and your first thought is to cut them out of your life completely? Or someone changes their mind and all of a sudden they’re a hypocrite?

Political discussion has become so disgustingly self-conceited and I see it on all sides on here. Everything driven by ego and/or bias. People acting like they have a clean conscious, have never done anything wrong, have never been fooled into supporting anything outrageous in the past, and have never had their mind changed about anything. For the record, I think there’s definitely a time and place for the “block” button or wanting to distance yourself from certain people when it comes to these discussions, and people obviously have every right to decide when to do that for themselves. I can’t help but wonder though, why is that so often the first resort? Where has that ever really gotten anyone when it comes to wanting to enlighten people on where you stand?

Also, can we normalize not having to like someone in power in order to agree with where they stand on certain ideologies? Or liking someone, but simply not agreeing with everything they believe in? Two things can be true — someone can be an asshole, but have a good point about something, and someone can be kind and/or come from a good place, but maybe lacks perspective on something. And before people start jumping to all kinds of conclusions, I’m not talking about any specific people in politics, as I really don’t care for most politicians or people in power. In fact, I think most of them are shady and can’t be easily trusted (even though I try to remain hopeful). I think with almost every election, it comes down to voting for a lesser evil. I believe a lot of them claim to want to make changes for the better JUST to get the vote and for personal gain (money, power, etc). Many of them have made promises only to later break them (and likely knew exactly what they were doing by playing on people’s emotions). I believe many people in power want to cause divide and pin people against each other and most of them are succeeding at it (take a good hard look at where we are today). I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m not here for any of that.

I like to hope people can see where I’m coming from and if not, I can respect that. However, whether or not we agree, I also like to hope that freedom of speech and mindful expression are able to co-exist. I’d much rather see you in my inbox or comment section than on my block list. Challenge me, change my mind, edit to add, ask questions, etc. I’m here and I’m willing to expand on my beliefs and often very strong opinions, but more so I genuinely want to listen, no matter where you stand and whether or not I like where you stand (initially). Let’s not forget that to listen and to agree are two different things. You don’t have to agree in order to listen, but it doesn’t work the other way around.

Also, yes, I do realize I did not outright post who I’m planning on voting for or which party I tend to resonate with most (dislike the least), and while I don’t actually “owe” anyone an answer, it would be nice to have the option to talk about it on social media without the fear of being attacked or “cancelled” for my beliefs. I think that’s something that we all should be able to do (if we choose to) and all should be able to agree on, regardless of where any of us stand.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for taking the time to do so. If you continue, I encourage you to read the last bit carefully and just think about it... Next time you refuse to listen and/or have a conversation with someone who carries a different outlook, think about whether you’re getting your way or getting in your own way (of being the revision you claim to want to see in this lifetime).”