Some of my best friends are Conservatives

Absolute right and absolute wrong...I think those only exist in heaven or
hell. Earth is the proving ground, the place of ambiguities,
cross-purposes, good intentions and vagaries.

I find out more and more about myself as I speak my mind. What I find very
strange is that in our small cadre of friends, individuals that C & I
socialize with regularly, over half are fairly conservative. Not being a
conservative myself, this means that I, at some point, disagree with
them, especially in todays political climate.

My prior strategy was to say nothing; to avoid conflict. But of late, I
stopped doing that...maybe because at my age, I now think that what I
believe in is the truth. Of course others have significantly divergent
opinions but recently I haven't felt their critique of my viewpoint a
personal attack. As I put my beliefs out there and get blasted back, I
notice the sinewy strength of their convictions, I see their faces contort
with fear and anger...their reaction to confusion and the unknown at it's
center is exactly like mine. We are together in that. And when they open
up and pour out their anxieties, concerns, and a host of very strong
emotions, just as I do,... what I generally see now is not easily
classified as 'right arguing against wrong'. Instead I feel enlightened
and privileged to see their point of view and I come away with a deep, deep
respect for who they are as humans.

"we are together, awash in self-same emotions
only the trigger wears a different face"

It's rather like what John Gardner touches upon in his seminal work On Becoming a Novelist. He comments that to be a great novelist (or a person who is fully connected to the life they are living) one must hold dear all one's characters, good, bad, or indifferent.

I cannot truly empathize, understand and build relationships with people if
I don't appreciate life in their shoes.