--- title: Avoid Political Tension at Thanksgiving description: Conflict in families is inevitable, especially during the holidays--and probably never more so than after this election. Here are some steps to keep opposing views... canonical: https://time.com/4574483/avoid-political-tension-at-thanksgiving/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-17T12:34:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:52:21.594Z article:section: Politics og:title: Avoid Political Tension at Thanksgiving og:description: Conflict in families is inevitable, especially during the holidays--and probably never more so than after this election. Here are some steps to keep opposing views... og:url: https://time.com/4574483/avoid-political-tension-at-thanksgiving/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Avoid Political Tension at Thanksgiving twitter:description: Conflict in families is inevitable, especially during the holidays--and probably never more so than after this election. Here are some steps to keep opposing views... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Avoid Political Tension at Thanksgiving by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 17, 2016 12:34 PM UTC by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 17, 2016 12:34 PM UTC Conflict in families is inevitable, especially during the holidays–and probably never more so than after this election. Here are some steps to keep opposing views from turning the festivities into a disaster: **1 AVOID PERSONAL ATTACKS** Don’t follow the candidates’ leads by personally insulting people who disagree with you. Focus your comments on the substance of what they’re saying. **2 TIME YOUR TALKS** If you’re tired or hungry, you’re more cranky and less likely to have a reasoned and respectful discussion. **3 DON’T CONDEMN** Many people have valid reasons for their political views; you don’t have to agree with them, but you should listen and try to respect them. **4 REMEMBER: THIS TOO SHALL PASS** We elect a President every four years; airing and discussing different views is the way we work toward change for the better. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4574483/avoid-political-tension-at-thanksgiving/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4574483/avoid-political-tension-at-thanksgiving/"},"headline":"Avoid Political Tension at Thanksgiving","datePublished":"2016-11-17T12:34:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:52:21.594Z","description":"Conflict in families is inevitable, especially during the holidays--and probably never more so than after this election. Here are some steps to keep opposing views...","url":"https://time.com/4574483/avoid-political-tension-at-thanksgiving/","keywords":["Thanksgiving","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/thanksgiving/","name":"Thanksgiving"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4574483/avoid-political-tension-at-thanksgiving/","name":"Avoid Political Tension at Thanksgiving"}}]}] ```