How to Deal With Liberal Family Members and Friends When You Are Moderate or Conservative

While I consider myself moderate and an Independent, if push comes to shove I do tend to lean conservative. And like me, I know there are a lot of people out there with individuals in their social circles that are on the opposite end of the spectrum of their own viewpoint. We all know this can be at best awkward and at worst downright nasty. We hear about uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinners and even relationships that keep people apart for years. In my experience I have come to a conclusion. We in the moderate category or on the right need to learn how to deal with the liberals in our lives in the most effective way possible.

It has become apparent that there are really only three ways to do this. They are all dependent on exactly how liberal your relative or friend might be.

First, make some topics out of bounds.

In my case at least, many of the liberals in my life are only slightly to the left and are willing to except the fact that someone may have a valid onion that differs from theirs. In these cases, we simply make it known that political discussion is not something we are going to engage in with each other.

This method is a good practice so long as you are dealing with someone who isn’t far left and extreme in their views. Sadly, those people are at a point that they are the opposite of the tolerance they profess and you have to take another route.

These people fall into what Winston S. Churchill meant when he stated, “Any man under 30 who is not a liberal has no heart, and any man over thirty who is not a conservative has no brains.” But instead, they become a victim of our society’s tendency to build a perpetual toddlerhood no matter what age you are.

We see this in people seeking “fairness” in everything when it reality the world is not fair. The only fair that exists is in the form of payment for transportation, being very pale or a place for amusement. We can’t just cancel everything that might hurt our feelings or have even the slightest ability to upset someone justly or otherwise. That’s not how life or reality works even if that’s what we’re being taught in our schools.

These folks will badger you and berate you and try to convert you or force you into their way of viewing the world. Your best bet in these cases is to do what I call the “Yes, Dear” approach.

We’ve all heard the jokes about how husbands and boyfriends (and occasionally it works the other way around) will just go along with some things their significant other says just to keep the peace. This can be hard to do but the subservient partner obviously considers the negative part of this option to be outweighed by any benefits to the relationship they have.

With people on the extreme left, you may need to take this approach if you value the relationship enough to tolerate it. Basically, let them say whatever and just nod allowing the load of crap being spewed to go in one ear and out the other. You don’t have to agree, just don’t argue and let them rant no matter how ridiculous it is. This is not an ideal situation but there are no ideal situations when dealing with irrational people.

If neither of these two approaches work, the last thing that we would all hope to avoid may happen. That would be to cut all ties. You can hope for the best that after weeks, months, or even years, they might shake off that brainwashing influence and come to their senses. While that is unlikely, it can happen and we can hope.