The latest craze among college students around the nation is to take a “politics purity pledge” with their significant other. The pledge is a commitment between the lovers to not bring up politics until after they are married or have broken up.
The pledge, which is usually accompanied with an exchange of sapphire and ruby-encrusted rings, marks a significant point in the young couple’s lives. It goes down among memorable moments in the relationship such as a first kiss, a marriage proposal, and the first time the couple handcuffs each other to bed and loses the key, resulting in an awkward three hours of waiting for a roommate to get home.
We talked to Alex, a sophomore psychology major who recently took the pledge. “It’s really exciting,” he told the State-Run Media, “For the entire dating, engagement and wedding-planning process I don’t need to think once about whether or not my girlfriend has radically different values than me. I mean, sure, the rest of our lives might be wrought with huge arguments about political issues, resulting in neither of us ever achieving true happiness, but isn’t that worth it for a little peace and quiet this election cycle?”
Not everyone is a fan of the pledge, however. Many political leaders have gone on the record with their distaste for the pledge, saying how important it is for young people to get involved with politics. “We haven’t even been seeing relationships holding together after these pledges,” said sociology professor Alton Ulrich. “It’s almost like keeping young people in the dark about something won’t protect them from it.”
