I know people who married a person on the opposite side of the political spectrum, and I just have to shake my head. If they found a way to get past such huge differences, fine; good for them. But I could never do such a thing, because I could never love anyone that far removed from the values I hold dear.
I don’t mean to say that I couldn’t love someone who has a difference of opinion with me. How boring would that be? In several ways, my husband has traditionally conservative ideals that infuriate me—the biggest one being that he’s pro-death penalty and I am not. When we met so many years ago I was in favor of it, but have learned so much now that the very thought of it makes me sick to my stomach.
But at his heart, he is a good man who also believes in the right of everyone to marry, that we should help one another as our ancestors before us did, that women should have bodily autonomy in all cases, that speaking multiple languages and embracing every culture is a good thing, that we need to focus more on the environment that so many other issues and that war is always a bad idea. Together we both identify as progressive people.
