Some individuals believe that true and devoted friendships are sustained due to having the same beliefs and perspectives on life, while others emphasize the importance of differences within the relationships. Personally, I think that both views are equally important to cultivate strong friendships.
Sharing similar perspectives and core values is the essential part of maintaining relationships with friends. Mutual interests help to find topics for everyday conversations, in which both of friends are interested, and speak freely, avoiding awkward pauses filled with silence. For instance, two devoted basketball fans have more chance to find common ground, talking about who won the last championship, than a politician with a plumber. Consequently, friends who share similar interests are inclined to experience closer relationships with friends than the latter ones.
Nevertheless, friendships become stronger when people have differences and when they are forced to find consensus every time they have a conflict. In order to have sustainable close friendship, both sides have to make concessions and find a compromise. By doing that, friends are learning how to value and respect others’ opinions and views on life, adopting a piece of their wisdom, which they can use later. Debates between advocates of democracy and totalitarianism serve as a good example of this, because even when politicians are arguing against each other’s position, they find useful ideas in the views of others.
To sum up, it is subsequently easier to maintain strong friendships while sharing similar perspectives, but we cannot neglect the importance of differences in relationships.