In my experience, Conservatives may care about politics, church, fishing, cars, books, scotch, skiing, or any of a number of different things. Friendships can be based on one or more of these items. If a friend doesn't enjoy scotch, then focus on the fishing. It's not hard.
Leftists, on the other hand, seems to define their personal self-worth by their politics. They need to save the world. Their opponents are scum. To hang around with scum is to call into question their own internal goodness. They can't handle that. They can't focus on the skiing, the books, or the scotch. All they see is that you are racist SOB with bad political views.
As I say, it can go both ways, and I know some Conservatives who will cut off any Leftist friend, but I think for the most part we do not tie our own self-worth so closely to mere politics. I have crazy neighbors here in MA, and I'm happy to have a pleasant conversation them at any time on many different topics. But there are days in which they can barely speak to me in a civil manner. They don't threaten me, but I somehow seem to threaten them.
It’s true, to liberals, Government is the be-all end-all of life....conservatives on the other hand, tend to view government as a necessary evil, and they go about their own lives and don’t rely on the government.....this is what works to our disadvantage, and frankly, I don’t know of any easy solutions.....the problem is what true conservative in their right mind wants to run for political office and put up with all of the crap that comes along with it, when they can be successful in the private sector?
“They need to save the world. Their opponents are scum.”
Good observation. But I think it’s more than that. I think the ones that get really vitrolic are the ones with personal guilt.
The most prominent time I got cut off by an old friend for no reason was the one where she had an abortion, and I had a baby, at the same time. She literally couldn’t look at me any more. When your life is together, and you are leading it right, those that resent you and hate you because you don’t make their bad choices get obsessed with you.
It’s the quintessential characteristic of the left. They hate you, because you are not infected with their own bad decisions and problems. So they look for a power higher than life and chance to shut you down - the government.
“I have AIDS and no kids because I’m gay, and you have a happy family and are well? Well, s**** you, not only am I going to make you pay through the state for me to have kids and my meds, I am going to do my best to degrade your happiness and drag you through the mud!” That’s what I see from the left - over and over. It’s a mental disease.