“Republicans and Democrats have come to view the other as threatening their way of life. They are increasingly unlikely to marry, work or socialize with each other.” — James Astill of The Economist
“Evidence abounds that Democrats and Republicans really do not like each other. Researchers have found that they avoid dating one another, desire not to live near one another and disapprove of the idea that their offspring would marry someone outside their party.” – Eitan Hersch, FiveThirtyEight
Could a Democrat with a clear sound mind, actually marry a Republican with a framed Ronald Reagan campaign poster on the living room wall?
And ditto for a Republican tying the knot with an admitted Hillary voting Democrat, particularly in these divisive times?
What would the in-laws think?
What about property values?
And think of the children being raised in split-registration homes?
Talk about a house divided.
Almost DailyBrett has noted that seemingly anything and everything of import around the world eventually is transformed into a heated discussion about one, Donald Joseph Trump.
Hold a funeral service for former President George H.W. Bush, and the resulting media commentary is less about the deceased #41, but instead more about the mere presence of a living, breathing #45 … even as he patiently sat in the first row of the funeral service in a House of God, and never uttered a word.
As America arguably faces the greatest division since immediately prior to the Civil War, the Red-State vs. Blue-State split has impacted the way we view each other.
Happily, the author of Almost DailyBrett has engaged in more than five years of marital bliss to my dear Democratic wife, Jeanne. We co-existed through two presidential elections and two mid-terms since we patriotically met each other on our one and only Match.com date on July 4, 2012.
There were no political fireworks at our first-ever Starbucks meeting.
Our respective politics did not stop us from falling love, living in sin and eventually marrying. Now, if one of us did not love felines (i.e., Kevin came with Percy; Jeanne came with Isaac) that would have been a deal breaker.
Believe it or not, there is more to life than politics.
Canceling Out Each Other’s Vote
“I knew Mary was nuts a long time ago. But I loved her in spite of it, and probably because of it.” – Longtime Democratic Strategist James Carville
“I would not deny we were, and remain, off beat creatures.” – Longtime Republican Strategist Mary Matalin
Even though they may have political debates over dinner, James and Mary have demonstrated to the nation that mixed political marriages can actually survive, thrive and produce two daughters for a generation and counting,
Democrat-Liberal James Carville and Republican-Libertarian Mary Matalin have been married for 25 years … tying the proverbial knot on Thanksgiving Day, 1993.
Not bad, not bad at all when it comes to years in the Institution … The Institution of Marriage.
“I’d rather stay happily married than pick a fight with my wife over politics,” said Carville.
There is wisdom in this sentiment, even though it originated from an über Democrat.
Even though we can almost reach a crescendo of political passion, Jeanne and yours instinctively know when it’s time to take … a time out. Sometimes you need to appreciate that if a topic is not your circus, and likewise the results are not your monkeys.
Let’s get back to the pivotal question:
Should a staunch Democrat marry a committed Republican or vice versa?
And let’s have Almost DailyBrett offer an insight into this interrogative.
If party affiliation is a real breaking point about whether a couple pursues the blessed sacrament of Matrimony, then you obviously don’t love each other.
If politics do indeed Trump marriage, then it’s a good thing (as Martha would say) that a given couple is not tying the knot.
Single women have a high propensity for being Democrats, married women less so. Single and married men are more likely to be Republicans. Mixed political marriages are a distinct possibility, and they can indeed survive, thrive and endure.
Politics are increasingly contentious in this divided country, but they shouldn’t be that important.
Love should trump politics, and Donald Trump too.
https://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/james-carville-mary-matalin-recall-finding-love-101333
https://www.pbs.org/video/one-one-mary-matalin-and-james-carville/
https://almostdailybrett.wordpress.com/2018/02/04/not-my-circus-not-my-monkeys/
(Almost) DailyBrett 