Posted on 10/16/2013 1:12:43 PM PDT by IChing
Yes and no. Yes, as in, it is possible, and no, as in, it’s not normal in the soul sense.
Of course, one immediately thinks of famous, mysteriously married, bi-partisan power-couples such as top republican consultant Mary Matalin and top democrat strategist James Carville. They’ve been happily wedded for twenty years. Amazingly, they actually met (in 1991) while each was about to be hired to manage opposing presidential campaigns; Matalin for George H. W. Bush, and Carville for Bill Clinton. They claim publicly that they don’t talk politics at home. When they appear on TV together, it’s actually pretty amusing to observe their playful jousting over public issues.
Or, perhaps less applicably, we have the dynamic duo of RINO former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and media maven/Kennedy-clan Obama shill Maria Shriver, who may be headed to Splits-ville after all.
Then we come back to the reality of everyday life among us, the comparative so-called hoi polloi. The real hazards and occasional rewards of odd-couple, opposites-attracting, friendships and relationships are in evidence everywhere. We all have at least some experience with this.
In the way of caveats about fellowship with people who don’t share our faith, those of us who are religious can point to the Biblical admonition about being “unequally yoked” with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14).
For that matter, when liberals and moderates try to insist that Islam can peacefully coexist with the non-Muslim world, we vigilant conservatives can easily point to the many passages in Islamic scriptures which forbid followers of Mohammed from taking friends among the “kuffar(non-Muslims).” We’re on solid ground, in terms of referencing Muslims’ own doctrine, which also says that it’s perfectly okay for Muslims to lie and pretend (“taqiyya” and “kitman”) to be friends with us, and give the appearance of cooperating, if it in actuality helps advance the overall goal of Islamic conquest of the globe.
But back to our more mundane daily lives.
Many of us have friendly workplace colleagues who differ with us drastically on major political topics, and for the sake of keeping things professional and amiable at work, we do our best to avoid getting too involved in sensitive political discussions and diatribes. That is, those of us who prefer to keep our jobs, and keep workplace aggravation to a minimum.
Then there are the various family members with whom we profoundly disagree, yet maintain all sorts of uneasy truces over inflammatory subjects in the news, tiptoeing gingerly around the political minefield while exchanging rote pleasantries and cordiality where necessary. Those can be the more touchy and explosive relationships that sometimes are better allowed to lie dormant indefinitely.
In this cyber-age of social media and online networking, almost everyone has reunited with old pals from our school and/or military days, with lost loves, former coworkers, estranged relatives, and so on. Plus there are the new online friends and acquaintances in our lists. As often as not, people we’ve never even met in person become fast friends through shared interests and discussion threads, mutual friends, political causes, or just liking their profile picture, initially.
Those venturing into the dating world, both online and off, know full well the vagaries posed by political differences which arise when getting to know, and attempting to develop relationships with, significant others.
It’s when things go bad that we step back and wonder if it’s even realistic to try to maintain certain associations, though.
Shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing, I had reconnected on Facebook with an old pal from my long ago drinking days in my youth, from whom I’d become estranged and had had no contact for many years. I made the mistake of immediately sending him one of my columns on ClashDaily.com, and he didn’t take too kindly to my efforts/sharing. His initial reaction?: ”Good lord, don’t start sending me Bill Ayres(sic) conspiracy type shit. I’m actually thinking of deleting FB account. I never use it.”
We argued, and had some choice words for each other. Here are his final words to me on Facebook: ”Seriously, Don, you’re a megalomaniac. And I don’ t care to hear your flatulence rising from the right wing fever swamps. To quote you from yesterday, why don’t you go f*** yourself. I’m blocking you.”
*Sigh*
To quote Rodney King(r.i.p.), “Can we all get along? Can we get along??”
Probably not; not always, anyway…but sometimes, we can–sometimes, for decades. I believe it’s a question of specific circumstances, complex chemistry, and spiritual forbearance. Either we work with what’s workable, or we don’t. It’s work, that’s for sure, and as with any kind of work, there are rewards.
Right, libs? ;-)
My dad was a lifelong Democrat and still is. But he finally voted for Republican presidents against Obama both times. This roughly coincides with when he started watching O’Reilly and FOX regularly, after hearing me watching it from the other room during the 2000s enough and eventually sitting down to watch with me, and then watching on his own.
The moderate McCain and Romney were probably more appealing to him than a staunch conservative. I think it’s less a case of him changing but of the Democrats going so far left that a moderate Republican was more appealing to him. That definitely hurt his record at picking winning presidents, since Carter and Clinton are now the only times he’s picked the winners since the 1970s. I do think he’s going to vote for Hillary since he still likes Clinton.
No. When having small talk with liberals, they eventually thrown in some political talk that is anti-conservative. Then when I respond negatively, they accuse me of injecting politics into a discussion. Just because I don’t remain silent and take it. Happens every time. They start with nasty politics, then accuse a conservative of doing so. You can’t remain friends with them and retain your sanity.
At times when I was working (various offices, now retired), I had a framed picture up of President Bush and an American flag behind my desk. Libs in the office would accuse me of harrassment and of making it a hostile working environment, threatening to get me fired. I said it stays up as long as they have Che Guevara posters, and other pro-liberal posters up (all over the office). My jobs were in San Francisco, I’m a native San Franciscan in a formerly Republican city (was such until 1964), and all the complainers were transplants from New York and elsewhere. I could be friendly with them, but not friends.
I think it’s more that they swallow the media and Democrat spin. They worked hard to convince people they should “hate” Cruz, Palin, Gingrich and Limbaugh to name a few. So you end up with people hating Rush who’ve never listened to him for example. That’s an instinctual reaction. It’s following blindly the herd of liberals in the media and elsewhere who are telling them to think that way. We would have less liberals and Democrats if we could just encourage independent thinking and skepticism of more institutions.
More women vote Democrat than men. That can’t be because of what households they grew up in. However, married women vote more conservative than single women. So it probably has something to do with women having a natural instinct to seek out protection from someone stronger, and single women deciding to look to the government for it since they don’t have a man.
Also, I saw a study that showed college-educated women come out exceedingly well-brainwashed with liberal propaganda, while college-educated men don’t change their views that much during college. So women may be more naturally trusting of authority or more influenced by peer pressure than men. I would say just from common experience, women are less comfortable with speaking out in a way that’s going to get them negative attention. They’re more likely to want to conform to the social norms around them instead of being an independent, contrarian voice. That may be why more married women are conservative too. They’re conforming to their husband’s point-of-view.
If said women grew up in households that voted Democrat, that is where they learned it.
Before the Kenyan usurped the office I would have said we can coexist. I don’t feel that way anymore. This guy is such a Hitler wannabe, a nightmare, that this country is broken possibly beyond repair.
You can't tell what is in a person's heart by which party they are in.
Thanks... He was a solid conservative back in the old days.
But after 30 years in the GSA, he was aparently turned to the dark side. I got that feeling a few years ago,but we never really talked politics, so I wasn’t sure.... Until last week.
.................
Than another , even older friend, who I’m barely polite to anymore.... While everything he believes in, the way he lives his life, is conservative, he votes Democrat....
Because 20 years ago, his boss was also the head of the County GOP organization, and he screwed my old chum over at work.
We had to agree to not talk politics anymore, because he “Doesn’t like my verbal ju-jitsu”, and his hatred for this one guy makes him willing to destroy everything he believes in, and he doesn’t like that being pointed out.
I don’t have a problem getting along with “default” liberals. We have a lot of Democrat voters here in eastern PA who are just partisans, and don’t believe in leftism to their core. They don’t hate conservatives on a personal level. They might hate the Republican party or think they do. But they don’t really take it personally if you disagree.
It’s the fire-breathing, progressive leftist who I can’t get along with. They will say very hateful things about conservatives and will judge you personally if you disagree. And they are dead set on getting nationalized health care, gay marriage, huge taxes on the “1%” and “corporations,” abortion on demand, etc. They see everything in life through the prism of how racist, sexist or bigoted they think someone or something is. Leftism is a religion to them, and they are just as judgmental towards those who disagree as the most hardcore fundamentalist in a religion would be.
I can get along with anyone who wants to get along with me. But true lefists don’t want that at all. Default Democrats on the other hand, are more reasonable and I think it’s worth trying to persuade them to the other side.
It doesn't work that way as a rule. A woman is no more likely to grow up in a Democrat household than a man. So that can't explain why on average women are more Democrat than men.
It’s the fire-breathing, progressive leftist who I can’t get along with. They will say very hateful things about conservatives and will judge you personally if you disagree.
It’s like the difference between “Athiests” and Anti-Thiests.”
I’ve met intelligent, courteous and reasonable Athiests. Every Antithiest I’ve met has been a braying jackass.
Each and every one would be more than happy to take everything you have and give it to someone else so they can feel good about themselves.
I’m 58 and I have yet to find even one liberal that wouldn’t stab you in the back.
Because people are sometimes more important than politics.
Judging by the other stories today, Congressional Republicans and Tea Partiers probably can't be friends or spouses either, though.
Send your parents a certified letter, signature required. Then they can't claim they never got it. Spell out clearly what the boundaries and limits you are placing on your relationship. Tell them clearly that you will no longer tolerate their toxic behavior and bullying tactics. That is what it is. You have toxic parents and you have to draw the line in the sand or they will play this game as long as they live. Make it clear if they won't abide by what is respectful towards you then there will be immediate consequences. Call them the day after you get the signature card back and ask directly if they will agree to your terms. If they don't stay away pretty much for good. If they say yes and reoffend tell them so and leave immediately. These people are emotional terrorists and this is the only way to deal with them. I had a mother like this, i know.
You captured a LOT of what I’d have said in my article if I’d had more space! Well-done.
...albeit there are some conservatives who are just as rabidly unreasonable and hateful, etc.
“He is at the top of the GS pay scale without being a political appointee, and has been furloughed. He is worried about paying his mortgage, utilities and food.”
If he’s at the top of the GS payscale and doesn’t have a decent reserve, he’s been pissing his money away on bling. Sadly, there are an awful lot of people like that in gov’t. service.
“I hope so because most women are liberals. It’s primordial instinct.”
I agree. That’s why our only hope is to forward the following Constitutional amendment:
Males and Females take turns voting in presidential election years. For example: Males only vote in 2016. Females only vote in 2020.
It is the only chance we have left of ever holding the presidency again. At least we have a good chance of winning every 8 years. It would also lessen voter fraud unless you are transgender.
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