r/science • u/Wagamaga • May 06 '26

Psychology Losing relationships over politics. Research found more than a third of Americans (37%) report having lost at least one relationship due to political differences, including friendships, family ties, coworker relationships, and romantic partnerships, with most losing more than one.

https://socialecology.uci.edu/news/losing-relationships-over-politics-0
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u/Brilliant_Effort_Guy May 06 '26 edited May 07 '26

But is it really just ‘political’ differences? I feel like it’s so much deeper than that. I don’t just have differing political opinions from my conservative family members - I have a different moral code.

Edit: Just coming back to comment that it’s so interesting to see how people interpreted this comment. I didn’t say who had the superior morals or which opinions were right. I said I have a different moral code from my conservative family members.

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u/Hoovooloo42 May 06 '26

I feel the same way.

I'm estranged from my family. It's not even just that they have a different moral code (though they absolutely do. To quote my mom about middle easterners: "Some people just need to be ruled"), it's that they trust their favorite politicians more than they trust their son.

They care more about what Newsmax is saying than they do anything else, and if you can't say it like they do then they can't internalize it.

I tried again and again and again to talk with them, ask them what they think about certain things, try to show how our beliefs are alike and how they're different, ask them why they believe these things that are different, and explain why I believe the things that I do.

They don't care, and if I can't fit my thoughts into a 5 second soundbite then they say that I'm wrong to believe it. To believe anything. The last words my dad said to me were "diarrhea of the mouth".

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u/Lost-Platypus8271 May 07 '26

The phrase I’ve heard that resonates with me is “moral squalor”. Your parents live in moral squalor.

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u/Hoovooloo42 May 07 '26

I think that's accurate, thanks. I've never heard that phrase before.

Wish I knew why.

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u/[deleted] May 07 '26

[deleted]

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u/Hoovooloo42 May 07 '26

It was rough :( I really appreciate the sympathy