Right about now, I’m sure other nations around the world are sitting back with buttery popcorn and an ice-cold soda with their feet up waiting to see what America will do next.

For those of you who have been under a rock, the government is shut down, impacting big and small in all kinds of ways. I never thought that the effects would be as severe as they were until my sister, who is employed by social security, wasn’t able to go in to work because of the shut down.

Normally, the saying goes, opinions are like butts: everyone has one, and everyone’s stinks. But with the shut down, more and more opinions are being expressed whether they be stinky or not. I’m not surprised. This happens with every national disaster or event that occurs.

Something to keep in mind when debating, because it sure won’t be just a conversation, is to show respect.

Political debates are infamous for their connection to violent outbreaks. Seriously. Entire nations are in turmoil for political differences and disagreements. You can take our own country for example. Let us not forget the entire Civil War that happened right here on U.S. soil over the disagreement concerning the politics of slavery amongst other political issues.

So, when engaging in debate with others about your left-wingedness or right-wingedness (these are words now), you have two ways to handle it.

Firstly, you can do what most people do, which is to totally ignore your opponent’s argument because you’re too busy thinking of your next point to bring up during the argument. Yelling over the other person does not get your point across. Instead it leads to further arguments and heightened aggression.

Secondly, you can listen to your opponent’s point of view and maybe, just maybe, consider it. You never know what you could learn from listening to another person during a debate.

Regardless of which option you chose, although the latter would be ideal, it is always important to show respect. Not only do you come out as being the bigger person, but you also get, or should get, the same respect from them that is due to you.

Now that I’ve given this advice, take it and use it. If only the government used it too.