As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. Having friends that have a different background or opinions than your own means that you are regularly going to be exposed to different ideas, and experiences. That can only make your life more interesting and varied as a result.

More importantly, it helps to keep you from getting too caught up in a single viewpoint. In other words, it helps us to see how our beliefs appear to other people and gives us a better understanding of the concerns of those that do not share our opinions.

Basically, it reminds us that we’re all just people. And more importantly, that a simple disagreement doesn’t make other people evil.

I honestly feel this is an important lesson that many forget. Especially in these angry and divisive times. Having friends that don’t agree with is not merely a thing you do for the sake of fairness. It’s also one of the best things you could possibly do to further yourself as a person.