Does My Generation Have More Tolerance for Spouses Who Don't Agree Politically?
Coming out of voting today, I met two different couples who I know who both said the same thing to me: "we cancelled each other out". Meaning, I think, that the husband and wife voted differently in key elections. I know this is also true of my wife and I. Which leads me to wonder if there is a generational difference in toleration for spouses with different political views, or if (as is often the case) nothing is really changing on this and the examples given in the media of intolerant millennials who won't socialize with people who don't pass various political litmus tests are just that, isolated examples.
Speaking of which, I took my daughter to vote for the first time today. She was pretty excited, and planned her outfit in advance.
She asked me why I was not wearing my "I voted" sticker. I told her that it made me feel like a sucker. She told me that she had clearly come to vote her first time with the wrong person, and should have found a doe-eyed idealist.
Rondo:
Cool.
I know couples who won't tell the other who they are voting for . I am a Trump supporter and for the life of me I can't see any reason for anyone to vote for Clinton unless your a insider. Corruption follows her wherever she goes and is well documented. It all started with lying about how she got her name.
November 8, 2016, 11:41 amBrad Warbiany:
I think it's overblown... For example I have a good buddy who thought he'd never date a Republican. I'm going to his wedding this weekend, and he's marrying a girl who is not just a Republican, but a very politically-active one. Funny how love trumps politics...
Granted, neither he nor I are "millenials", at 38. But I do really think that while politics might be a filter to who you meet, once you meet someone it all goes out the window.
November 8, 2016, 12:21 pmBram:
I find it hard to image a spouse who sees the world so differently.
November 8, 2016, 12:57 pmBloke in North Dorset:
My son and his partner cancelled each other in the Brexit vote. Taking it further, her mother and father cancelled out me and my wife.
For the record, we were out voters.
November 8, 2016, 2:40 pmUgasailor:
You are telling me she didn't get thrown out of the polling place or arrested for wearing a short with the American Flag on it? Thank Sheriff Joe!
November 8, 2016, 7:21 pmErikTheRed:
I think it's interesting in that it probably speaks to the lack of epistemological consideration and / or consistency people have with their political parties. These views should ideally reflect a solid core of ethical beliefs and ideals with regards to how people interact with each other and society which in turn underly almost all dynamics of interpersonal relationships. My wife and I are very tight in these ideas, but we also both tend to be more philosophic than most. I have a difficult time seeing how it would work otherwise, except when people just muddle through with vague notions and partisanship - in which case it's just like supporting a different sports franchise.
November 8, 2016, 9:23 pmWcwc:
I'm on the older side of the millennials. My Facebook timeline has been absolutely filled with people saying, "If you're voting for X, unfriend me." They don't even want the other side in their social media bubble, never mind a romantic relationship.
Me, I'm a libertarian and my partner is a socialist. There's more important things in life than politics.
November 9, 2016, 2:25 amRich A:
It's worse telling your "doe-eyed idealist" daughter that your vote for president really has no value in 11 electoral vote Arizona, although it's slightly better then in my 7 electoral vote state of Connecticut. Before anyone tells me I should still vote I've never missed voting in the forty years I've been able to.
November 9, 2016, 9:10 amSamWah:
My wife said she would, but she votes in the adjacent state. Well, she did cancel mine, as I found her out of state ballot here on the 8th. Made no difference, though.
November 9, 2016, 4:35 pm