Politics and Friends

My and my wife’s 10 closest active friends are about half politically liberal and half conservative. We have political conversations every once in a while, but they don’t dominate. The only thing that sticks out in my mind over the past 4 years is many of our conservative friends have said they “hate Obama”. That sticks out because during Bush’s 8 years as President, I don’t remember ever saying, or thinking, I hate him. I didn’t support any of his policies and think he ruined America for at least 10 years going to war with Iraq and eliminating the financial regulations that led to the 2008 financial collapse… still I never “hated him”.

Our conservative friends’ positions hasn't stopped us from really liking them and wanting to socialize with them. And as far as I can tell, our liberal positions hasn't stopped them from liking and wanting to socialize with us.

BUT WHAT IF WE WENT DEEPER?

I assume my conservative friends all want the following to happen in America and vote for candidates who support these positions:

1. Reduce the current safety nets for the poor to the bare minimum (way below where they are now).
2. Never raise the minimum wage (maybe eliminate it).
3. Dramatically reduce federal regulations in the areas of banking, water and air pollution, land use, energy efficiency, etc.
4. Give a higher priority to voters in the suburbs and rural areas of the country vs inner cities. Perhaps have more Congressional Districts in rural and suburban areas than in big cities (that is, assign Districts by land area not population). In other words, not maintain the ideal of one person, one vote, and give higher priority to the white voter vs the non-white voter.
5. Eliminate Obamacare and go back to the way health insurance was. And certainly never have Medicare for everyone (single-payer system).
6. Do nothing about climate change.
7. Increase the use of oil and coal and eliminate all incentives for renewable energy.
8. Reduce the tax rate on people making over $250,000 per year.
9. Reduce the influence of the Dept. of Education (perhaps eliminate it).
10. Make all abortions illegal and jail any doctor who performs one. Perhaps jail the mother too.
11. Make most birth control devices/meds illegal.
12. Ban stem cell research.
13. Deport as many illegal immigrants as possible and keep the remaining as illegals forever.
14. Roll back any relationship with Cuba.
15. Do not spend money on repairing the country’s infrastructure.
16. Require all Americans invest their Social Security payments into private investments. Perhaps do away with Social Security.
17. Weaken unions as much as possible. Perhaps eliminate all public unions (except Police unions of course).
18. Encourage the use of Christian dogma in government.
19. Eliminate all barriers to buying a firearm. Allow the sale of any fully automatic weapon.
20. Allow carrying a firearm anywhere.
21. Make same sex marriages illegal.
22. Expand prayer in schools.
23. End support for Planned Parenthood
24. End all support for “equal pay for women”

If all of the above came to pass in America, I would be horrified. I might take up arms or leave the country (and conservatives might say “good riddance” :)

So how far should close friends go discussing the differences between liberals and conservatives? Should we discuss them more? Or would that just lead to lost friendships and even less understanding between us?

What do you think?