If the friend is clueless, it may not require many clues for this to become a suddenly conservative friend. A freight train is bearing down on us.
They know where I stand, I’m not going to waste another iota of my time and energy trying to convince them. They are highly educated adults in their 50s and 60s, if they haven’t learned anything by now, I don’t have a lot of faith that they will, until it smacks them in the face. By then it will be too late.