<p>Unfortunately, most people don’t have the capacity to “agree to disagree” or to not talk about it. </p>
<p>Moreover, there’s a major difference between using political orientation as a means to filter out friends which I and most people I know find ridiculous and using the same to determine one’s romantic partner…especially for the long haul. </p>
<p>Personally, my friends’ political positions range from hardcore libertarian/conservative right to genuine Marxist lefty types. I’m ok with this with friends…not sure I can live with it with an SO. </p>
<p>Marriages are not only much more intimate and long-term for many…in-laws are involved which further complicates things. </p>
<p>This is illustrated by a Vietnamese/German-American friend’s account of being invited to a friend’s outdoor bbq during his undergrad years and finding said friend married into a family where the grandparents were high-ranking Nazi party members despite the fact he’s Jewish and the wife and her parents completely repudiates the grandparents’ politics. </p>
<p>Said friend was amused by the barbs being traded back and forth…especially considering the grandparents weren’t hesitant about being hostile to his friend for being Jewish and him for being of Vietnamese origin and they had enough wits and sense of humor to unapologetically return the insults with their own witty ones. I’d also wonder how his friend dealt with family members possibly entertaining disowning him in light of their status as Holocaust survivors and/or anti-Nazi partisans in Eastern Europe during the war.</p>
<p>The wife and I will be at a friend’s house. She is from Germany and is amazed at the lack of interest in politics displayed by most people (CCers excluded).</p>
<p>I was a big fan of decriminalized marijuana until it passed in CA. An unnamed (by my choice, I know who they are) organized crime group bought the vacant property next to my uncle’s house, built a fence with razor wire and perimeter lighting, then started the grow operation. Their rottweilers kept getting loose and killing other animals, and the armed guards pacing the perimeter, firing guns when they got bored, unnerved the rural community. If the new law does not allow users to grow their own, then the same people will be in charge of the supply.</p>
<p>I recall spending one election night, in which my party was losing big all across the country, flipping around and around the TV channels, hoping to find a channel on which they were winning. </p>
<p>H and I used to be much more in line - fairly in the center despite often voting differently. He has definitely gone way to one end over the last 4 - 8 years, while I have stayed in the middle/slightly other way. On many non-political issues (raising the kids, religion, finances, careers, etc. ), we are very compatible. I think he is “trending” as he ages. He is dismissive of people who disagree with him, which I do find very problematic. Whichever side wins, I wish the party well. I fear that if H’s guy loses, H would wish the other guy to fail so H could say “told you so.” My kids are both moderates with strong opinions based on the particular issue. They have benefited from the years where there was a healthy two-sided, respectful debate. Not so much now, which is informing the 15 year old still at home. He associates my H’s party with being closed minded.</p>
<p>DH is more partisan and dogmatic than I am. I’m probably more liberal than he is, but I’ve probably crossed party lines to vote more than he has. Our marriage probably would not work if we were too dissimilar in our political phiilosophies.</p>
<p>I remember with fondness the days before social media sites, when I had absolutely no idea how most of my friends voted. I can hardly wait for this election to be over. Some of my dearest friends are of a completely different political bent. This is a fact that I have had rammed into my consciousness in the last few months. They have every right to their political beliefs, but I am tired of scrolling past the rants. Has anyone ever changed their political views based on something posted on facebook?</p>
<p>My parents were on the two opposite ends of the political spectrum, so politics was an off limits conversation topic in our house. I do not know if it was a conscious decision or not, but I chose (or he chose me?) a guy with whom we share a lot of common beliefs. Nowadays we vote together at the dining table, filling in the little ovals in our ballots and then comparing the results which pretty much always match. :)</p>
<p>eastcoas, I’m in the same boat. I keep trying to block the candidates pages so that they don’t appear on my newsfeed (believe it or not, I don’t WANT to know which of my friends like which candidate- I would rather keep politics away from those who don’t want to openly talk about it). But it keeps coming up. Especially on mobile. Drives me nuts!</p>
<p>Mnmom, that sounds like my house. The 17yo still at home is bothered when his dad yells at the TV, even if it’s good natured yelling. He thinks I’m more reasonable than his dad. Of course, he’s right. :)</p>
<p>"Has anyone ever changed their political views based on something posted on facebook? "</p>
<p>My H posted a wonderful, heartfelt opinion a couple of weeks ago after a good friend of his linked to an ultra-right wing scare-tactic opinion on gay marriage. It was literally the only political thing he’s posted, ever. He likened gay marriage rights to the rights of multiracial people to marry and said some blushingly sweet things about me in the process. He wondered if the same people wanting to stop gay marriage would have also opposed his marriage to me.</p>
<p>Several people then shared it, and at least one person replied that it gave him/her a perspective they hadn’t considered before. So maybe when the links aren’t cartoons, or ecards or quotes from strangers but thoughtful opinions, they CAN make a difference. </p>
<p>He and I are close politically. I don’t think I could be in a relationship with someone who believed the polar opposite of my views. I think some are immoral, actually and would have problems with someone who thought that they weren’t. I have friends who believe in such opinions, and they are not people I am close to, and by unspoken agreement, we leave such topics out of our discussions. My family is another matter-I hide and ignore their rants-I have to live with being related to them after the elections are over.</p>
<p>Some are reporting that the weather may be a factor in some of the swing states. Seems so caprecious.</p>
<p>When my DH and I married we did not discuss politics other than to say we would each go vote to cancel out each others votes. But happy to say he has come around to see the light We now vote the same. And I haven’t changed.</p>
<p>To answer the “what are you doing” - I just got a call that I have a mammogram scheduled for tomorrow night. So I guess that’s what I’m doing! With a smartphone, though, I won’t be out of the loop for long. </p>
<p>S, an Obama volunteer, will be at McCormick Place with the Obama event.</p>
<p>My friend (a campaign manager)'s status was: </p>
<p>“I’ll make you all a deal. If you go and vote tomorrow, I promise I’ll talk to every campaign staff in the country and they’ll cease their ads immediately.”</p>
<p>I thought it was funny and a good way to try to remind people to vote.</p>
We now vote the same. And I haven’t changed.</p>