It's official - We've parted ways over politics

[haele]

140. I think what they're trying to say is that when the other party won't listen...

There's no talking to them.

There are at least two mental/emotional issues at play here.
The first issue has to do with the way people who tend to be conservative think and feel the world around them. That's little "c" conservative - the type of people who are hierarchical or black and white thinkers, not those who politically Conservative - there's quite a few self-proclaimed Liberals and Progressives who are at heart conservative that way.
These people, no matter how funny or smart or loving they seem are wired to Manichean thinking (yes/no, right/wrong, now/always) and it's difficult for them to accept concepts and actions that might not fit in a worldview they're comfortable with. So conservatives crave a small world where the divisions between what they can accept and what might threaten them is very small and controllable.

The other issue is a feedback loop issue between control and reward. Everyone desires control over their own lives - from the time they first become aware that there's a world around them to the time they finally sink into the great comfortable dark at the end of life. The more adrenaline one is experiencing, the more pleasure taking "control" or being on top gives one.
So a conservative (Right or Left leaning) who feels off-balanced because they're feeling the world is too large, or they're not being respected enough, or because they are being lied to constantly by those who want to profit off that agitation can become addicted to that feeling of power one gets being part of a movement that is aggressively active - no matter what the end goal of that movement is.
It's almost a Lizard Brain reaction. If one is angry or frustrated, the identification, categorization, and total destruction of one's "enemies" - whether or not they're actually enemies or just someone who disagrees with one's point of view - is an incredible high. Whether it's a little argument, a social movement, or a physical battle, the winning becomes everything. And people become addicted to that feeling - it's the real reward for winning - they're on top of the world, the king/queen of all they survey...

So no, if someone is caught in the feedback loop between control and reward, there's no discussion with them. They want to win, and you're the enemy if you disagree with them.

Yes, I've tried talking to Randriods, conservatives, Evangelicals (religious, philosophical, or otherwise), and Alcoholics and any one time or another over the past almost 60 years.

When they're under the spell of their emotional ruler, they don't want to listen - they don't care about the world outside their particular concerns, they are certain they're right, and they have the overwhelming desire to beat you into submission if you disagree.
It's better not to waste time and energy engaging with them, but rather figure out ways to mitigate the damage they do, and be there if and when they come to their senses.
I know, I've occasionally felt a similar urge myself when angry or frustrated. But as a liberal, I accept to my bones that the universe is huge and diverse, and totally outside my control. The only thing I can really control is my own reaction to what the universe sends my way, and what I choose to do with my skills and talents.

But most people either can't or don't want to accept that. They want a nice, predictable, small world they can have a modicum of control and certainty over, even if it's as a slave to some ambitious group with delusions of Godhood.

Haele