Florida’s “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” survey on how university students’ political views affect relationships on campus is yet another reminder of the new normal we’re now mired in. It’s a microcosm of our fraught societal landscape. How do we get along with those who have slaked their political thirst with the vile and venomous Kool Aid provided by the Irreverent Donald Trump? Especially when they are family members, friends, neighbors and colleagues.
This isn’t about old-school ideological differences between the business and the middle class. This isn’t the era of Jacob Javits and Margaret Chase Smith. This is about threats to democracy, core values and those too easily duped by the racist ethno-nationalism of a malevolent cult leader.
We’ve all had the encounters. Just don’t double down and make it worse by getting into an ideological fistfight. Simply withdraw respect, move on to other topics or other people and alter the definition of “friendship.”