I feel like you don't have much of a choice. If you were to walk into a relationship - say with a republican and being a democrat - inevitably, your differences would surface, be it because of need to communicate with each other about current events, or by way of simply watching the news together. It would be in all of the media sources I mentioned and to simply ignore all of those one veritably sticks one's own head in the sand.
During undergrad I was doing some research for a psych course and came across a line of research about this subject and I remember it said that the number one predictor of relationship success was --- political beliefs! It outweighed religion, nationality, and a whole bunch of other things. It kind of makes sense, though. I think your political leanings tend to be an extension of your general temperament (inborn), and there are a lot of personality traits that correlate with politically liberal or conservative people. Super fascinating stuff.
I don't have strong political beliefs, so I'd be open to dating people with various political beliefs. Only time I find myself addressing politics is when a topic I do have a view on gets politicized but I mostly find politics boring. I'm not particularly keen on the way the media sensationalizes political news and embellishes stories, I feel like it often forces people to start with narratives that they might not have otherwise held to defend their party, I think this might explain some of the mudslinging I frequently see. I'm slightly on a tangent here but thoughts that came to mind and gives some insight as to why I'm mostly uninterested in politics.
It seems you're equating political beliefs with political party affiliation/support. Maybe that just happens easier in your country though, with only 2 relevant parties on the national level
Yes, I was assuming they are the same thing. In cases where there are fewer extremes, as with moderate political stances, I think it's probably a more feasible match. But when both parties are taking the complete opposite on so many issues, it's difficult to imagine a relationship where political beliefs aren't a concern.
Well, I took notice of american left leaning folks who don't dig the democrat party at all, and Im pretty sure it's the same with certain more right leaning folks and the republican party. But already thinking in left and right will limit your perception I suspect.
That's by far the minority! I don't think we can characterize the discussion with that example. But you are right; not everyone. It's like there are plenty of hip folks in California for example that are very into the political left who also will regularly bash the Democratic leadership. It's funny to me as a democrat because I see that as counterproductive to their interests. But they want what they want when they want it as the adage goes... So what I see is that even with a moderate in leadership there is a better chance of leftist goals being achieved, or even just premises conveyed. Because if we face it, we see that many of the things we aspire for are contradictory to the status quo. You're right about the tendency of the very hip left to not jibe with democratic leadership, though I suspect for the purpose of argument an exception can be made to say that most people of one political belief cannot get along with those of the other; assuming opposites of course.
is watching the news a romantic activity now? outside of hipforums and facebook, i pretty much never encounter any politics. you don't have to look hard to find it, but you do have to go a bit out of your way so it is easy to avoid. they see your stance as being counterproductive to their interests of ever managing to change this broken system.
not romantic, no. But it's something I enjoy that I would certainly endeavor to share with a romantic interest. I'm really outgoing that way. I'd totally want to debate politics with my significant other.
if you want to debate politics, maybe you should date someone who disagrees with you. i guess if you enjoy watching the news i can see wanting to do it with your SO. personally i have no interest in doing that most of the time.
I wonder if this type of couple uses opposite Party pejoratives when it's getting rough in the Bedroom. Maybe calling their partner "Libtard" or "Altright" is considered Dirty Talk.
Oh. I heard of it but never saw it. I think it was a little before my time. Plus my my mom was always kind of controlling about how many cartoons I could watch growing up. Winx Club and Ninja Turtles was my jams back in the early aughts