Seriously, attitude is everything. If you smile, people smile back. If you treat people with kindness, 9 times out of 10 you'll get kindness in return. You don't have to agree on politics...politics isn't everything. Humanity is a shared experience...pictures of kids/grandkids. The price of gas or food (you don't have to shove a solution in someone's face, just acknowledge the problem) the price of whole wheat bread (and favorite recipes for making it more cheaply at home), where you find the best prices for organic produce, what you bought at the farm market, and where to buy the best free range chickens (shameless plug). Upcoming community activities, trying to lose that last 10 pounds, how to fit exercise into your day, what you're thankful for (you don't have to use the "G"[od] word). The things your husband does that drives you nuts. What the kids are up to, dealing with aging parents, the road with the most potholes...what you admire/love (and just take joy in) the person you're talking to.
I have some very good nonmoonbat friends who tend to vote at the left end of the political spectrum...some who share my basic values, even. We just disagree on how to get from point "A" to point "B". Certainly we could make a major issue of our differences, stomp off in a tizzy every time we think there's only one way to solve a problem (and ONLY "our" way is the "right" way), but it makes for a much happier existence to just buy a pitcher of marguritas, dance until you drop and enjoy the company of people who know you inside and out and love you in spite of the fact that you don't march in lock step to every single issue on the planet.
My dearest friend in the whole wide world is gay. He's my soul mate. He has been "uncle" to my children. My big, strapping Marine, still has the teddy bear my friend gave him when he was born. He cherishes it. He doesn't necessarily condone the lifestyle, but he truly loves the man who lives it. We go round and round about political issues but at the end of the day no one knows our innermost thoughts better. How utterly shallow and pathetic would I have to be to end a friendship that's lasted longer than my marriage just because we're going to vote for different people.
I keep thinking...what the hell is wrong with these people...but I honestly don't believe there are enough lifetimes to figure it out.
Cindie