President Donald Trump will speak at Washington’s Department of Justice on Friday, March 14th, 2025 (Pool via the Associated Press)
It seems that the era of moving away from polite company political debate is over.
From social media posts to conversations with friends and family, politics has become a hot button buzz for many. It was frustrating as they try to navigate the increasingly divided landscapes we live in.
Angela Mead of Somerset County, who was walking with her daughter and sister at Ohipile State Park this week, said the current barrage of rhetoric was “unbearable.”
“No matter where you go, it feels like someone is trying to talk about politics,” she said. “It’s like at grocery stores, family gatherings, as if everyone forgets how to talk about other things. I love discussing ideas, but it’s been so divisive.”
Her daughter, Stephanie, is a teacher who described herself as “politically interested and emotionally exhausted” and tries to manipulate the conversation in a different direction.
“We instead started asking people about hobbies, and I think it reminds us that we have more in common than we realise,” she said.
Washington County resident William Riley said the media helped develop the department.
“I look at it like this, Trump has been in office in under 90 days, he’s doing exactly what he said he was trying to do, and the media is just putting it out of control,” Riley said.
“I talk about it every time (the president uses toilets) like it’s the end of the world. (h) E will clean up the mess from Biden, remove the waste and allow him to become a successful county that has flourished again. The liberal media won’t even give him a chance.”
Several people interviewed were asked to refuse to give their names or not be identified because of the sensitive nature of the topic and the current social environment.
“It’s hard to talk to people who live in a different reality than us,” Chris said. “The economy is tanking. Every day there’s more information coming out that the federal government is being demolished, and we’re secluded from other parts of the world. There’s no way this can end well, but people are too stubborn to admit that they’ve been fooled by (President Trump).”
Emily, a nursing student who doesn’t want to give her last name, is away from social media due to her mental health.
“There’s always a lot,” she said.
Uniontown resident Patrick Struhar, who works in the medical field, aimed at media and social media to benefit from sensationalism rather than ethics.
“The media has turned the message into a kind of evaluation game. We know the old proverb “When it bleeding, it leads.” So, if you generate more adversarialism and negative energy, you will gain more traction,” Struhar says.
Struhar believes the amplification of the political message began under former President George W. Bush, and said he picked up steam during former President Barack Obama’s tenure.
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Lifelong Fayette County residents Gregory and Melanie Chris said politeness took place on the roadside.
“I think you have to be familiar with what’s going on in the world, but you have to put that into perspective. You don’t want politics to split you, but we seem to have lost the art of being able to argue and oppose,” said Melanie Chris, a former nursing professor.
Both believe that the discourse began around the Clinton administration, denounced the newly implemented diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
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Chrash questioned when people could discuss politics civilly.
“I think we’re trying not to personally take that because now people are trying to hear what others are saying a little better,” Melanie said.
