Do You Avoid Certain Conversation Topics?

The old adage is that in polite company, you don't discuss politics and religion. Do you stick by that?

Personally, I pick and choose where I engage in sensitive topics. But, that being said, I think that we can learn a lot from each other if we don't shy away from intense topics.

But, of course, you have to be careful about how those conversations are actually carried out.

I've always been a believer in mutual respect, and I actually enjoy having respectful conversations with people who I may not necessarily agree with ideologically.

But I think that's the key - mutual respect. Where these conversations can break down and cause problems is when people start to raise their voices and let name calling start to enter the dialogue.

I think that sensitive topics like religion and politics are fair game, in fact I think that actually discussing those topics can help us understand each other better, but of course everyone in the conversation has to be willing to have the talk with the same level of respect. And, unfortunately, that is the hard part many times.

Do you avoid sensitive topics all together, or do you try to engage others in those kinds of conversations?