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Do you find yourself enlightened in different ways by each group? Have you changed your mind on an issue because of the case one side or the other has presented to you?

 

Or do you just avoid political talk completely among friends?:D

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Do you find yourself enlightened in different ways by each group? Have you changed your mind on an issue because of the case one side or the other has presented to you?

 

Or do you just avoid political talk completely among friends?:D

I don't discuss politics with friends. It never ends well.

 

I do enjoy reading political posts on this board. I don't think my mind had been "changed" on any issue, but it definitely helps me appreciate other perspectives. I try to refrain from posting in those threads, though.

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Do you find yourself enlightened in different ways by each group? Have you changed your mind on an issue because of the case one side or the other has presented to you?

 

Or do you just avoid political talk completely among friends?:D

 

 

I have changed some of their minds, and on a few points the reverse is true.

 

I would never avoid political discussion unless someone became emotional. I do not force it but would not shy away.

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I consider myself an Independent, but I tend to lean more toward conservative. Most of my friends are conservative; however, I have some who are liberal. I don't usually talk about politics with friends because emotions tend to run too high. With that said, I do like to hear from my liberal friends though to learn why they feel the way they do in regards to certain subjects. I don't recall a time where my thoughts were changed, however. I do feel I can garner a better understanding of a topic/position by discussing it with others though; I just need to carefully choose whom that person may be.

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i make friends easily with all types of people. i would say half of my friends are conservative christians, and half our very liberal. i didn't become a christian until i was 25 (almost 40 now) and many of my friends date back to high school and middle school (when i was incredibly liberal). they stood by through terrible choices and loved me in spite of myself. i always remember that, and love them in spite of choices or opinions they make which i disagree with. in some circumstance, we have challenged each other... but that's what friends do. i love them all unconditionally though, & pray for them often.

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I avoid political discussions, usually. I have not changed my mind about my views based on anything anyone has said to me. If an issue comes up with which I am not familiar, I research it and form my own opinion. Most of my friends are liberal, and I am neither liberal nor conservative as my views are issue-driven.

 

Many people I have met IRL have views which are informed by what they hear on television. They like the sound of something, they adopt it as their view, and they don't have anything to base it upon (like facts). They cannot discuss politics; they can parrot sound bites. An example of this is that during the last election, nearly everyone I talked to was going to vote for our current president because he promised "hope and change". That was all they could say: "We need hope and change." I concluded that having a memorable, positive slogan is as important to a political campaign as it is to an ad campaign.

 

The rest of the people I know are either wedded to a particular party due to one specific issue, without regard to what the party's stances on other issues are, or they want the U.S. to change its form of government completely (not by my inference, by actually saying they want the U.S. to have a socialist or communist form of government).

 

I don't enjoy talking about politics. That said, I am appalled that many people do not know what our form of government is, or much about our Constitution and history (except for the bit which was drummed into their heads every year in school). Not having basic knowledge limits their ability to discuss politics in a rational, reasonable way. I encourage people to vote and to research and think about the issues, but only if the subject comes up in conversation. I have stopped educating people, in general, about facts -- like the content of the Constitution -- because it takes too long and makes me weary. Instead, I focus on my children having the tools with which to make good decisions when they are old enough to vote. I do not care how my children vote, which is good since I will have no control over that. I want them to be able to make informed and thoughtful decisions.

 

BTW, before anyone jumps on me, I have found that lawyers, doctors, educators, accountants, and the like are just as uninformed and likely to embrace sound bites as are people who have less education. The problem is a lack of deep thinking about the issues and being willing to take politicians' statements at face value. That arises for a variety of reasons, including not having time, not being interested, and not knowing how to do research.

 

Frankly, I think many, if not most, of the issues facing our country are extremely complex and that there is no workable solution to some of them that does not involve major changes at basic levels, some of which appear on the surface to be unrelated to the issue at hand. It is no wonder that people do not have time to fully inform themselves, as much as that is possible, about every important issue. I know I do not.

Edited by RoughCollie
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I'm fairly middle-of-the-road, so I enjoy hearing both sides of an argument. Right now I live in the Midwest. People are generally reserved here and usually do not get into politiccal discussions. However, when I am back home in the South, opinions fly left and right. I enjoy these discussions, as long as they are logical. I can listen to and appreciate far-right opinions as long as the person has done the research necessary to validate their opinion. Same goes for far-left opinions. I always reserve the right to be wrong about anything and everything. There is ALWAYS something I can learn from others, even if that something is the fact that the other person is a moron:tongue_smilie:;).

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Do you find yourself enlightened in different ways by each group? Have you changed your mind on an issue because of the case one side or the other has presented to you?

 

Or do you just avoid political talk completely among friends?:D

 

Interesting question! I don't think anybody's ever changed my mind on an issue, but I have been enlightened as to why other people might feel the way they do, and gained a better understanding of opposite points of view.

 

In real life, though, I usually avoid political discussions (and religious ones, and debates about hot-button parenting issues...). I love to debate, but I find most people don't - they just get angry. I also find a lot of people have wedded themselves to one side of idea or the other, and don't THINK about the reasons, so there's not much possibility for discussion anyway. It's troubling to me.

 

I love finding a friend who's up for discussing different ideas without it being a personal argument of some sort, but folks like that are in short supply in my life these days.

 

I always read threads where people are debating a topic - I find it absolutely fascinating!

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I avoid *heavy* political discussion (like when others are doing some serious complaining/bashing). I'll engage in conversation with friends about the basics, but never with any intent to actually sway someone else. It's more just to express part of who I am.

I don't recall ever being swayed by someone else. I'm much more inclined to do my own research on issues.

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Dh and I have friends covering the entire political spectrum, and although there are a few who do not care to discuss politics, most of us love to debate and discuss... often passionately. :D All of our personal political views have evolved over time, and I am sure that much of that has been our influence on each others' lives. However, I think that the greatest changes have been the injection of grace in how we represent opinions different than our own, an ability to recognize and acknowledge that political opinions are often not black and white (even within a single individual's belief system), and the realization that there often is a common ground no matter how incompatible two (or more) opinions appear.

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I sometimes enjoy discussing politics with friends who can do it without getting emotional, but I've found people like that to be few and far between (honestly, I'm not sure how great I am at it, either (in real life; I think I can do it reasonably well online), but I've managed it sometimes. I have friends from all over the political spectrum (it would be hard to have many friends at all if I limited them to those who agree with me politically, given where I live!) I think we'd be much better off as a country if everyone had a diverse group of friends instead of staying in a like-minded bubble--not necessarily because people would change each other's minds about things, but because I think it's essential to see "the other side" as real people who happen to sincerely disagree with us instead of as demons or caricatures. (not to sound like I'm patting myself on my back for my diverse friendships; were it not for geography and circumstance, I'm sure I'd have trouble resisting like-minded bubbles as well. They're so....comfy ;))

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I am a moderate. I Have friends who fall everywhere on the spectrum. I totally agree with RoughCollie that many, many people are misinformed about our system of government, the content of the constitution, what a particular law will or will not do, the stance and records of political figures and so forth. I don't bother discussing much with those people, because I have found that they are not interested in being enlightened.

 

I have definitely changed people's minds. People have challenged my thinking and given me other perspectives to think about.

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I sometimes enjoy discussing politics with friends who can do it without getting emotional, but I've found people like that to be few and far between (honestly, I'm not sure how great I am at it, either (in real life; I think I can do it reasonably well online), but I've managed it sometimes. I have friends from all over the political spectrum (it would be hard to have many friends at all if I limited them to those who agree with me politically, given where I live!) I think we'd be much better off as a country if everyone had a diverse group of friends instead of staying in a like-minded bubble--not necessarily because people would change each other's minds about things, but because I think it's essential to see "the other side" as real people who happen to sincerely disagree with us instead of as demons or caricatures. (not to sound like I'm patting myself on my back for my diverse friendships; were it not for geography and circumstance, I'm sure I'd have trouble resisting like-minded bubbles as well. They're so....comfy ;))

 

I really agree with the bolded part. Truthfully I think this country in general could benefit from listening more and shouting less with regards to various issues. I don't like to claim only one ideological and/or political stance. I have shades of liberal and conservative views on most issues. Many of my friends tend toward the liberal side of issues; nonetheless, I enjoy talking with them.

 

I heard people say that no matter how rancorous political discourse is now, it was much worse a century and a half or more ago. I wonder where, for example, the Lincoln-Douglas debates would fall on the current political "only want to score points not really discuss any issues and try to find workable solutions" scale.

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When I'm in a group of conservatives, I always feel like a raving liberal. When I'm in a group of liberals, I always feel like a crazy conservative. But that's just me. I'm pretty contrary.

 

I do have friends and family in both camps. It doesn't bother me but it also doesn't change my mind often. I will say that I'm in a pretty liberal area, so most people I know lean liberal. Also, pretty much everyone I know is well educated enough to have a nuanced stand or to back off and admit when they're uninformed. I don't talk politics with people too much, but the thing I can't engage with people on is when they're just straight up and down having bought the entire party line from either side. It's just infuriating because they tend to demonize the other side - like conservatives who think liberals are handing the country over to terrorists or liberals who think conservatives are heartless jerks. Sure, there are some bad people out there, but the overwhelming majority of us want what's best for the country/world - we just have different ideas what that would look like and how to get there.

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I have friends on the whole spectrum. Some I can talk with about it, others I can't. Some, from both ends of the spectrum, are unwilling to listen but rather just keep throwing words words words at anyway who will listen. I think that they are hoping they can just exhaust their audience into joining their cause.

 

Others, again from both ends of the spectrum, are interested in differing viewpoints and we have great conversations. Even if we don't change one another's minds, we do give one another more clarity on varying points. I will say that the folks who fall into this category are more likely to have looked into the various topics on their own rather than simply buying the line of a personality or website.

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Or do you just avoid political talk completely among friends?:D

 

This.

 

My very best friend has become more liberal over the years. I stopped talking politics with her when she completely bit my head off over a pretty minor comment I made. Oh, and there was a time when she said something at my church made her want to throw up. If you knew my friend, you would know how shocking these things were and how she's changed. It makes me sad that we can no longer talk about these things. We've always disagreed about topics, but used to be able to have a civil conversation.

 

Has my mind been changed about anything? No.

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I'm a staunch moderate, Independent. I vote for Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Libertarians. I'm far more supportive of a candidate who is truthful, even if it's not exactly what I want to hear than a candidate that just repeats his/her party's rhetoric. A candidate that cheated on his wife, no matter how long ago, is not a respectable person. Since moving to this part of the country, where people think you must be far left if you aren't in love with Sarah Palin and the Tea Party, I find myself getting frustrated more often with a lack of respect for different views. I don't care what you believe as long as you can explain why. Sometimes I learn something new, which effects my own thoughts. I'm tired of explaining that I'm a moderate, and just because I'm not ultra conservative, that doesn't mean I'm way on the left. Some issues, I'm very conservative about, some I'm on the liberal side, most, I'm in the middle, as I believe most issues are not black & white but have a gray area! I believe in compromise, not one side having to have their complete way, most of the time. I love talking politics when people are respectful of each others views, even if they are different, it's interesting.

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My very best friend in this world (aside from dh) is a liberal. I didn't know that for the first 6 months I knew her. I was shocked when I found out.

 

Since then, I've found how little it really affects real life. We disagree about some things, but I love her and she loves me. We don't try to change each other's mind - we're both adults who believe what we do for real reasons. I respect her and she respects me. It works.

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We disagree about some things, but I love her and she loves me. We don't try to change each other's mind - we're both adults who believe what we do for real reasons. I respect her and she respects me. It works.

 

:iagree: That's what matters the most..... respect and love, not your political views.

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Do you find yourself enlightened in different ways by each group?

Yes.

Have you changed your mind on an issue because of the case one side or the other has presented to you?

Yes.

Or do you just avoid political talk completely among friends?:D

Yes, I try to avoid political talk if the other person is drunk, which doesn't make a very good stand for her position or party.

And no. I have a friend who is well-informed and self-taught on many historical and governmental issues, he knows about the sneaky crap being done by various political figures in his community and state. Amazing he knows so much. I always listen to him, I am one of the few who will, his family thinks he's way off base.

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