[ClearCase_guy]

I hear you. I've been avoiding a conversation with my brother for a few weeks. He's been insufferable for years, but my patience for it is just worn out. I try to talk about other things -- but no! -- he has to talk about politics and he has to focus on the fact that I am wrong about everything and he is right about everything.

Family is important, but boy I've had it.

[altura]

That’s the problem in some cases. Someone close is liberal but when you try to convince them to just disagree and talk of other things, they won’t. This is a liberal thing.

I had a 30 year friend who would call me up and talk for an hour. We had a lot in common, but she would not stop talking politics and she was ugly about it.

Finally, I began to confront her every single time and she cut me off completely from her life.

She died without ever speaking to me again, and I am ashamed to say I’ve never missed her.

[bt_dooftlook]

I strongly urge folks to be temperate in their comments. I have liberal friends, too, and they have told me "you always think you're right", so the sword cuts both ways. Whatever happens this weekend or for the remainder of President Obama's term, we will be living with these people, if not under one roof, then under one flag.

Before going nuclear, think long and hard about what you were going to say, because words spoken cannot be brought back, and the hurt they cause, intentionally or unintentionally, may be a long time mending.

That being said, do NOT surrender the commons to the leftists; if someone says something you believe is mistaken or incorrect, you can interject with "I disagree with your statement that xxxxx"; at that point, they can drop the conversation or, if they want to engage, you can decide whether it is the proper time and place to join in. In my experience, many liberals are only liberals because they get their experience in the world via the MSM or leftwing professors; they expect everyone to agree with what they are saying (much like a fish being unaware of the water in which it swims). When confronted with firm resistance, they are more likely to stop the conversation rather than engage with someone who is not one of them

KEY POINT: If you choose to engage, NEVER attack the person, only the policy! Leave them room to back down gracefully, especially if others are present. It is possible for good people to do bad things or believe in flawd policies. Point out bad effects or inconsistencies and let them draw their own conclusions.

Perhaps consider them as the perpetual adolescents they consider themselves to be. You love them, but for their own safety, you withhold alcohol and car keys, and anything else that gives them power (or the illusion of power) to harm anyone else.

In this case, it is incumbent on us to help build coalitions of people that will recognize the extreme danger into which progressivism has placed America (the ideal and the country) through government, the media, the universities, and the schools, and help engender the return to first principles necessary to roll back Leviathan.