A question for those 40 yrs old and younger. [View all]

[luckyexpat]

I'm at a real disadvantage. I have no idea what the everyday life of people under 40 yrs. old is like. I'm pushing 70. I haven't lived in the states for over 12 yrs, and I don't have any children. I really feel out of the loop. I have or in some cases had conservative friends. They are all in my age range. We used to be able to avoid politics, but it seems like every subject circles back to right wing talking points. I honestly don't think I've become more liberal since my first time voting for McGovern, but my conservative friends seem to be consumed with politics with an almost hatred for the left. One friend I still have went to Woodstock and had hair to the middle of his back until 1980. He now carries a gun everywhere he goes and it's nearly impossible to have a phone conversation. I ask about the weather and I have to listen (without a single word in response) to how climate change is a hoax. A woman friend is truly a wonderful person. She had, or maybe still has a magnetic photo of Reagan on her refrigerator, but we avoided politics and even vacationed together. She had some recent health issues. I asked her how things were going (my bad...I didn't specify her health) and she went on a tirade about Biden already causing the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. One more final example: I ask a old buddy if he's taking safety precautions for the Corona virus and I get 5 minutes of how masks don't work, China is completely at fault, and then it segues to people defecating in the streets. I'm not even talking about friends I've had since Little League that have become reborn Christians or Evangelicals, and have told me I am doomed to damnation. I least they promise to pray for me. Sooo, my question for the under 40's is, "Are you having similar experiences with your friends?" I'm curious, because I'm thinking that older people don't have as many things to talk about, especially now with Covid in the mix, and that has contributed to this political polarization. But is this mostly a generational thing, OR is it just me??