Political Talk: How Americans Are Dodging Discussion as Election Nears

Political Talk Gets Silence

As the election approaches and the two parties compete fiercely, ordinary Americans choose not to talk about politics in public

WASHINGTON — The content explores the varying approaches to political expression among business owners in Washington, D.C., particularly focusing on Mark Furstenberg, a bakery owner who prioritizes a politically neutral environment for customer interactions, and Richard Harris, a winery manager who openly supports the Democratic Party and LGBTQ+ rights. While Furstenberg avoids political discussions in his bakery to ensure a welcoming atmosphere for all patrons, Harris embraces his political stance.

This reflects a broader trend among businesses and employees in the U.S. to navigate the complexities of political discourse, with many opting for neutrality to prevent conflicts, especially as the 2024 election approaches. Surveys indicate a desire for corporate engagement in social issues alongside a demand for political neutrality in workplaces, highlighting the challenges of maintaining harmony in personal and professional relationships amid differing political views.

Key Concepts

• Mark Furstenberg, a bakery owner, prioritizes customer service over political discussions in his shop.
• Furstenberg believes that maintaining a neutral environment is essential for serving all customers, regardless of their political beliefs.
• Richard Harris, a nearby winery manager, openly supports the Democratic Party and promotes inclusivity through visible symbols.
• Both Furstenberg and Harris emphasize the importance of welcoming all patrons, including those with differing political views.
• Many businesses, large and small, are reluctant to engage in political discussions to avoid conflicts in the workplace.
• A Gallup poll reveals mixed feelings among employees regarding political discourse, with some feeling accepted and others uncomfortable.
• Personal political discussions often occur within trusted circles rather than in public or workplace settings.
• The political landscape within families can shift over time, leading to cautious conversations to maintain harmony.
• Educators like Callie Stezar experience challenges in discussing politics with family members who have different party affiliations.
• The trend of avoiding political discussions during family gatherings has become common, especially around election times.

“We are not interested in other people’s political stances; we are interested in their dietary stances.” Mark Furstenberg, the 85-year-old owner of a very famous bakery in the northwest of Washington, D.C., told reporters when asked whether he would remind his employees not to talk about politics with customers, although he said he was a staunch Democrat.

“If someone walks into the store and says, ‘I’m a Republican and I’m voting for Trump,’ I’m not going to say, ‘Go away!’ I’m going to say, ‘What would you like to eat?'” Furstenberg emphasized. “Our business has nothing to do with politics.” He added that there is nothing political about the bread or the sandwich itself.

In public, No Politics

With less than 60 days to go before the US presidential election, the American people are paying close attention to who will be the next US president. Not long ago, the two presidential candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties exchanged sharp words in a TV debate and accused each other during the campaign, showing the “cracks” in American political life. However, in daily life, ordinary Americans like Furstenberg choose not to easily express their political stance in order to avoid conflicts with clients, colleagues, friends, and family due to different political stances.

Fulsenberg said he has voted Democratic all his life and, as a young man, campaigned for the party in nearby Pennsylvania, “going door to door,” he recalled.

The store has about 60 full-time employees and another 30 temporary employees. Since the store opened 10 years ago, customers have been coming in droves. Furstenberg told VOA that if he heard an employee talk to a customer about politics, he would tell them not to do so because “if someone has a different opinion than you or the customer, he or she might be offended.” However, Furstenberg said that he has never encountered such a situation in his more than 30 years in the bakery business.

Not far from Mr. Forstenberg’s bakery, there is a store that sells all kinds of famous wines, and its business is also booming. The store manager, Richard Harris, pointed to the rainbow sign hanging in the window, which symbolizes support for gay people, and clearly told reporters that the management of their store supports the Democratic Party, and he himself is considered a radical within the Democratic Party.

However, like Forstenberg, Harris told reporters that if someone who supports Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump walks into the store wearing a Trump supporter’s iconic MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat, he will not drive them away. He also “quietly,” but not without pride, told reporters that a customer who buys wine here all year round is a well-known senior Republican government official.

At a hardware store less than half an hour’s drive from the two stores, the owner told employees that if customers took the initiative to talk about politics, as employees, they could listen but not express opinions or comments.

Washington bakery owner Furstenberg also mentioned that he once opened a bakery and restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue, just one street away from the White House. Many of the customers there included reporters, politicians, people who worked in the White House, and people who worked at the nearby World Bank and International Monetary Fund headquarters. “These people are very close to politics,” he said, but no one ever talked about politics openly.

Big companies don’t discuss political issues?

It’s not just these small shops. In the United States, some large multinational companies, such as Google and Meta, have long since banned employees from discussing political events in the workplace.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai reiterated in April that he does not want employees to discuss politics in the workplace. He said the office is not a place to “argue about disruptive issues and debate politics” or “behave in a way that disrupts colleagues.” Prior to this, Google had fired 28 employees who publicly protested Google’s cloud computing contract with the Israeli government.

Another major company, Meta, banned controversial chats in the office, including topics such as gun rights and vaccines, at the end of 2022.

A survey by Weber Shandwick, the world’s largest public relations consulting firm, in March this year, said that as the 2024 election approaches, most Americans – including consumers and employees – want companies to speak out and take action on key social issues, help bridge social divisions, and uphold democratic principles. However, they also expect companies – including employers – to remain politically neutral in the workplace.

However, as the election approaches, political topics will inevitably creep into office life. A poll released by Gallup in August this year showed that discussing politics in the company is a double-edged sword. According to the survey, 14% of employees said that they feel accepted when discussing politics with colleagues, and 11% said that their relationship with colleagues has become closer because of their political views. At the same time, 12% said that political conversations at work make them feel uncomfortable, and 3% said that their views are treated unfairly.

Discussing politics with friends and family?

Furstenberg of the bakery said that when Americans discuss politics with each other, they usually discuss it with familiar people, family, or friends. He said that his family is very concerned about politics. He would discuss the election with his oldest son, who lives in the nearby city of Baltimore, and even discuss the debate between the two candidates with his youngest son, who lives in the Dominican Republic, over the phone. He would also discuss the election with some college alumni: “But discussing it with strangers for no reason? No!”

But Callie Stezar, an educator who lives in Maryland near Washington, D.C., told VOA that politics is not discussed among her family and friends. She said that sometimes she wishes that people could exchange opinions on political issues more openly, including among family and friends.

Like Furstenberg, she is also a supporter of the Democratic Party. She said that many of her relatives support the Republican Party, and there have been heated discussions among them. Although there has never been an excessive, argumentative situation, everyone now avoids talking about these topics and chooses to respect each other’s positions.

Staciar said that when her mother was young, her hometown in southwestern Virginia was rich in coal resources. Since the Democratic Party supported the coal mining industry at that time, and many of her relatives were miners, everyone supported the Democratic Party at that time. Later, she told reporters that as the Republican Party supported miners, the coal mining industry, and fossil fuels, most of her mother’s relatives changed their positions and supported the Republican Party.

“After my mother moved to Washington, her whole lifestyle was very different from her hometown,” said Stechaer, who is now a teacher in Washington. “There are no coal mines here, and people are more concerned about climate change. As a result, her political views and the political views of our whole family have changed a lot.”

When she returns to her hometown in Virginia during the holidays, Staciar said that her Republican aunts and uncles are very polite and do not loudly preach or defend their political views or positions, but avoid such topics. “They are very polite because there are more of them. On that occasion, if they speak hard, at least in terms of volume, they will definitely drown us out!” She said, “Relatives still have a lot to talk about, such as going on picnics in the wild, etc.”

Stechar said that some of her relatives may support the Democratic Party, but since they live in an area where the vast majority of people firmly support the Republican Party, so far none of them have publicly stated that they support the Democratic Party.

Not discussing politics with relatives, friends, and family, especially during election years, seems to have become the norm for some Americans. In the media, every time a family reunion holiday like Thanksgiving approaches, there are always articles advising readers on how to avoid discussing politics with relatives to avoid destroying the harmonious holiday atmosphere.