Reagan Responds
On politics and the coronavirus
March 12, 2020
How to cope with political differences in a relationship?
In 2020 it can be very disheartening to discuss anything remotely related to politics. When in a relationship with someone that has significant political differences, I think there are a couple of ways to work around that situation. The first thing that I would do is set some guidelines for when political issues are going to be discussed. The one that would be most important to me is respecting the other person’s point of view. Two people may vehemently disagree about a certain political issue. However, as long as both people respect each other and make sure to respect each other’s point of view, there is a lot of productive conversations that can be achieved from discussing the issues. Once both people respect each other, I think it’s also important to be an active listener. A lot of people are hearing each other, but they’re not listening to each other. The bottom line is that politics is something that should not be avoided in relationships. If two people are together and the end goal is marriage, then I don’t see a realistic way to avoid political conversations forever. It’s an important part of our lives and I think it’s beneficial for everyone if the issues get discussed. Avoiding it does no good and doesn’t advance the conversation or open people up to new and potentially better ideas. The entire key is honestly not “coping” with political differences. Instead, it’s having those tough conversations about political issues and being respectful enough with each other to have those productive discussions fairly, respectfully and openly. Not everyone is going to agree and that’s OK. We just need to have tolerance for people that don’t have the same views as we might.
What is the impact of coronavirus on sporting events?
The last 24 hours have been some of the most hectic, confusing hours of my life as a die-hard sports fan. It was just a couple of days ago that rumors started circulating that college basketball and the NBA would be playing games without fans. Social media was an uproar about how it was such an overreaction to the coronavirus. Even LeBron James said that he wasn’t going to play games in an empty arena. However, everything has changed. The ability of the coronavirus to spread like wildfire has caused sports leagues all over the world to shut down or play without fans. Reality is finally setting in on sports fans in the United States that the virus is no longer an issue that is happening across the world. Cases are being found in more and more states each day and it’s leading to a complete shutdown of sports in the United States. Wednesday night it was confirmed that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the coronavirus. Because of that, the NBA decided that it was no longer safe to play NBA games and an entire slate of contests were postponed on Wednesday night. The NBA announced that the league was being suspended and that no games would be played for the foreseeable future. The sports world is feeling the effects hard. Perhaps the biggest sporting event each year is March Madness where 68 college basketball teams are picked to compete for the national championship. If the pace of the coronavirus continues, the entire college basketball tournament will likely be canceled in the next several days. There is another sporting event that hits close to home for me -- the Masters. Played each year in Augusta, Georgia, it’s the world’s biggest golf tournament. Each year I look forward to the roaming fairways, the blooming flowers, and the crowd roars of a Sunday afternoon major. If the Masters were to play without fans or cancel the tournament, it would be devastating to the golf community. For fans like me, it’s our favorite sports event of the entire year and with no crowd, it wouldn’t have the same impact as it usually does. The coronavirus has crushed the sports community in the last couple of days and there’s a good chance that we haven’t even seen the worst of it yet.
Reagan Hoverman is a student at UW-River Falls.