Argumentative

I think in order to span the gap between religion, race, party affiliation, etc, we often come to a point of compromise with our friends and relatives. This is often manifested by an unwillingness to talk about things serious or potentially inflammatory. A Christian might be friends with a non-Christian, and they might not ever talk about religion. Democrats and Republicans often have to avoid their political stance or else get into arguments. Creationists vs evolution.

Our stances on some things have so fractured the population that we can define ourselves and put ourselves in groups. The groups can still be bridged, but the reminder that we our in those groups can get us heated. I made a comment about evolution and a friend hear and responded. When we both realized we were in disagreement about evolution, he proposed dropping the conversation. To keep things friendly, sometimes we accept differences without addressing them. Religion can be particularly tricky because those beliefs are close to our hearts and change how we view the world.

Also, we are so used to having to defend ourselves that either we don't bring it up, or bring it up defensively. I've been in a room full of Democrats that was so loud and offensive toward my more conservative beliefs that I would sit huddled in my seat, keeping quiet so I wouldn't get pounced on. I'm not laying the blame on Democrats in general; I'm sure there are Republicans just as bad or worse. I'm just saying that particular group was intolerant and self-righteous.

On the other hand, the right type or relationship can foster discussion and be built to survive it. Casual friends might want to avoid serious topics like this and keep their friendships light. But I have another friend who is very Democratic and politically minded. We were able to actually talk about our differences and discuss politics without attacking each other and name-calling. I hate it when disagreements turn so sour that the parties attack each other instead of the other's position. Arguments are meant to be logical. Calling the opposing side a moron does nothing good. And I think much of American politics has evolved into a stalemate where the parties disagree largely because they are used to it.

But the hard part is, when you do get in an argument with a friend, what happens next? Good chance nobody has changed their views? Do you just go on like nothing ever happened?