Brad Wardell's views about technology, politics, religion, world affairs, and all sorts of politically incorrect topics.
Published on August 6, 2008 By Draginol In Blogging

Dr, Melissa Clouthier: Mourning Michigan: How liberal policies are killing the state I love.

6 steps for dealing with liberal friends and family

Do you want to be friends or do you want to prove you're right? I'm not saying you should go along to get along, because I don't believe in doing that, but people get very sensitive about how little they know about politics. If you rub it in their faces or make them look like idiots, which incidentally, is what generally makes for a good blog post =D, it's going to upset them. It's one thing to do that to liberal bloggers or liberals in a comment section, whom you probably don't care about one way or the other, but it's another thing to do that to your friends and family. So, let them know you disagree, but don't make a huge issue out of it or humiliate them.

That's a tip I need to learn. I don't try to humiliate friends or family, I try to stay out of discussions on politics if I can with them. Most of my family is quite liberal but they also don't follow the issues very closely.

 

More on liberals and conservatives in relationships here


Comments
on Aug 07, 2008

I feel for you Brad... most the time they end up going in a circle and you can easily confuse them on a topic...

it makes talking to them about real issues harder later

on Aug 07, 2008

Maybe if you went through life without thinking that your right you won't have any trouble discussing politics without offending anyone.

Ultimatley though, some people are just not capable of accepting another persons opinion if it differs to their own, and by accepting i mean allowing that person to have it, it is generally these people that have trouble discussing politics with friends and family.

 

on Aug 07, 2008

Most of my family are liberals as well and we do get into some discussion.  Last week my mom started on me about the oil companies and their profits. I guess she doesn't believe companies should make a profit without sharing it with her.  I asked if she knew what percentage profit they made and if she compared it to the 15% the goverment was taxing us at the pump for gas. 

She changed the subject. 

One thing that surprises me tho, is the fact that my liberal family does not like Obama at all.  In that we are for the first time in agreement.  Thought that was interesting. 

 

 

 

 

on Aug 07, 2008

Maybe if you went through life without thinking that your right you won't have any trouble discussing politics without offending anyone.

Ultimatley though, some people are just not capable of accepting another persons opinion if it differs to their own, and by accepting i mean allowing that person to have it, it is generally these people that have trouble discussing politics with friends and family.

No, that's not the issue. People are entitled to their own opinions. They're not entitled to their own facts.

What I regularly see are people (friends/family) who hold very strong opinions but those opinions are based on emotional need rather than facts. They are pre-disposed to believe a certain way and get angry if there is data presented that contradicts their opinion.

If someone in a discussion says that we've killed 3 million civilians in Iraq, it's not about me simply accepting their "opinion".  If someone says that the rich don't pay any taxes my disagreeing with them or saying something is not abotu me thinking I'm "right" about my opinions.  If someone tells me that it's a "fact" that we could switch over to wind and solar power in 10 years as our primary source of energy but can't because "big oil" won't let us, it's not about me being "accepting" or open minded.

I don't go looking to debate politics with people who I know aren't that up on the issues. But at the same time, if they're going to start proclaiming their opinions, loudly, in my presence, I have a hard time not gently correcting their misconceptions.

on Aug 07, 2008

Maybe if you went through life without thinking that your right you won't have any trouble discussing politics without offending anyone.

If he went through life without thinking that he is right he probably wouldn't have made as much money as he has, wouldn't employ as many people as he does, and wouldn't be able to give his family what they deserve.

 

The idea that one should reject the truth just because it upsets liberals is ridiculous.

 

on Aug 07, 2008
Maybe if you went through life without thinking that your right you won't have any trouble discussing politics without offending anyone.


And maybe if we realized that we are discussing politics maybe we could go thru life not being offended if someone has an opposing opinion to yours. When one goes around not trusting in what one believes in (or not feeling one is right) how does one make a decision if every time one discusses an issue with another person of a different view one could find oneself constantly changing ones view? There is a reason we have a Democracy and not Communism, we have different opinions in the country and Democracy (in a way) allows the majority to rule.
on Aug 07, 2008

I'm always right. As in, conservative. Get it? Right, conservative? There's a sense of logic in the names.

on Aug 08, 2008

Leauki
The idea that one should reject the truth just because it upsets liberals is ridiculous. 

There a massive difference between the truth and believing what you know to be right.

It's of course helpful to put facts together to form an opinion, but many things which are passed on as fact aren't indeed so and even if they are, they can be easily misrepersented, certainly statistical facts etc.

I think the article itself presents useful information for many political standpoints, not just for conservatives.

 

on Aug 08, 2008

There a massive difference between the truth and believing what you know to be right.


No, there isn't.

The one is a subset of the other.

And by asking someone to reject what they know to be true because it upsets liberals you are potentially asking someone to reject the truth because it upsets liberals.

And when you believe something and it turns out to work, like in Brad's case, it's very likely that the belief is closer to the truth than others. Rejecting something that works because it upsets liberals is just not a good idea.