It’s hard to party with ‘one-party’ rule

Dear Amy: I am an intellectual conservative, living in liberal California.

Time after time at dinner parties, the guests just assume that I am a liberal.

When I tell them that I’m fairly conservative, they just don’t get it. They freely disparage “right-wing hillbillies” and say that all conservatives are “evil people.”

What is one to do? Must one just smile faintly and bear it? — Frustrated Republican in Berkeley

Dear Frustrated: Whenever I try to tackle a politics-adjacent question, the reader-responses range the gamut from people decrying my conservative hot takes, my liberal views or my “both-sides-ism.” This tells me that people are avoiding nuance, context or subtext.

My take on the phenomenon you describe is that one unfortunate consequence of our president’s comportment is that it seems to have inspired a parallel mindset in the opposition. I do not lay the blame for the close-minded attitude of many progressives on the current administration; I simply note the parallels.

Each of us is responsible for our own behavior. But the stereotyping and overall narrowminded attitude you describe is something you might want to gently ask these liberal intellectuals to reflect upon. Practice a question: “Are you interested in learning more about how conservatives like me view current events?”

Yes, it might be easier for you to simply sit through this sort of group-think, but you should not take the blame for “ruining” a gathering simply because you have asked people to be open-minded and rational. Nor do I think that you should feel forced to stay silent when others are being rude.

Surely anyone worthy of being called a “liberal” should defend your right to speak your own mind, and should maintain an attitude of openminded curiosity about people who think differently.