[fwdude]

My certain guess is that, conservatives being what the are and liberals being what they are, they need you more than you need them. It is lonely in the leftist echo chamber, and leftists thrive off of controversy, mostly concocted controversy. After all, they have no compunction about denigrating conservatism around you, while you are decidedly more reserved for the sake of relationships.

Let them try getting along without their "foil" of conservative family members, and they'll eventually try to make up to you. Mark my word.

In a perverse sense, I really believe that leftists deep down detect a core of eternal truth in the conservative position, and derive a certain sense of security from its existence. If truly backed to a wall, I don't think they would admit to wanting to live in a world completely devoid of conservative values and people. That world would even be a nightmare to THEM.

[OldNewYork]

That resonates as the truth. And it’s what I’ve seen too, though you’re putting it into words better than I ever did.