For many Americans, this holiday season looks like it might be even more full of tension—and not just related to hosting your family and cooking lavish feasts. Research indicates that the presidential election is a huge source of stress and is causing many people to spend less time with their relatives.
A good rule of thumb is not to touch on any overly sensitive topics when you’re at the dinner table with your family. But when it’s an election year, things tend to get spicy. So much so that some people have decided to avoid meeting their relatives for the holidays altogether. Case in point, one anonymous dad went viral online after explaining how he’s supporting his two daughters who decided to skip out on family Thanksgiving and Christmas this year due to political differences. Scroll down for the full story.
Election years can cause a lot of stress among relatives with different political values, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up
Image credits: Asterfolio / unsplash (not the actual photo)
A dad turned to the internet for advice after getting stuck in the middle of a drama involving his family, the holidays, and the elections
Image credits: mona Masoumi / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / freepik (not the actual photo)
The man later clarified a few things and added more context
Image credits: Anonymous
According to research, many Americans feel stressed due to the election, politics, and thinking about the future of their country
The American Psychological Association (APA) reports in their poll ‘Stress in America 2024: A Nation in Political Turmoil’ that a jaw-dropping 77% of Americans reported that the future of their nation is a significant source of stress in their lives.
73% of respondents said that the economy was also affecting them negatively, while 69% of Americans admitted that the 2024 US presidential election was also a major source of stress.
Some other common stressors included things like healthcare (55%), crime (54%), the environment (51%), global conflicts (51%), and gun regulations (49%).
Furthermore, the APA reports that 65% of adult Americans said that housing costs are stressing them out, as well as false news (62%), and the social divisiveness of the US (60%).
Here’s a bit of historical context to show you that the situation is very similar to what we’ve seen in the recent past. According to the APA poll, 68% of Americans were stressed out due to the presidential elections in 2020, compared to 69% in 2024.
However, things were, ironically, not quite as bad 8 years ago. Polarization wasn’t as acute in the past. Specifically, in 2016, 52% of Americans stated the presidential election was a source of stress. That’s significantly fewer people than in 2020 and 2024. It’ll be very interesting to see whether the situation improves or deteriorates further 4 years later, in 2028.
According to the poll, 41% of Americans also reported that they have considered moving to another country due to the existential stress rising from the state of the nation. Around 39% revealed that they’d consider moving to another state. A whopping 64% of respondents opened up that they felt like their rights were under attack.
Meanwhile, 32% of Americans said that the current political climate in the US has strained their relationships with their family members. 30% admitted that they limit the time they spend with their family because they don’t share the same values as them.
What's happening during the holiday season now is similar to what the US went through in the past
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska / unsplash (not the actual photo)
For those of you with a good memory, you can probably remember what the atmosphere was like 8 years (aka two US presidential elections) ago. All of this probably feels like déjà vu. You’ve been here before. Many of the tensions and reactions you’re seeing on social media and the internet likely feel very familiar because they’re echoing a similar sentiment to all those years ago.
No matter your personal political beliefs and who you voted for, you probably also remember people dreading going to family dinners and even considering skipping celebrating the holidays together.
It’s possible that you’re one of those people who’ve decided to take a break from meeting up with your family this year to keep the peace and avoid arguments over the election. Or you might be someone who has decided to bite the bullet and go to dinner, regardless of those differences.
Those choices—whether to skip the holidays or still go—are very personal and there’s no single right answer. Everything depends on your values, beliefs, and family dynamics.
Some families understand that everyone will see things like politics, religion, etc. differently, but that despite all of this, it’s possible to put those things aside and be civil for the sake of a nice meal together.
It's also not a terrible idea to spend some time around people who have different opinions than you to be a more open-minded, well-rounded individual. Actively listening to someone and honestly trying to understand their perspective might reduce the polarization in the country. Of course, this takes into account that both parties put in the effort to be respectful of each other's views at the table.
On the flip side, in other families, things aren’t as clear-cut. Some people decide that not sticking up for their principles or values would be tantamount to betraying a core part of themselves.
So, they view their political and religious differences with their relatives as something fundamentally at odds with each other. And they suspect that if they do show up for Thanksgiving or Christmas, election discussions will be inevitable. Instead, they decide to take a stand and skip family gatherings. At least this year. After all, nobody likes being preached at or being told their values are 'wrong.'
But what are your thoughts, dear Pandas? What would you do if you were in the OP’s shoes? Would you do what he did and support the daughters skipping the family festivities this year? Or would you try to mediate the conflict so that everyone gets together despite their differences? Share your thoughts in the comments, just remember to keep things civil.
As the online post went viral, the dad interacted with some of the people sharing their thoughts in the comments
Here's what other internet users had to say about the sensitive issue
