I Don’t Date Liberals, Here’s Why

I have many liberal friends. As a conservative at a large overwhelming liberal school, it’s inevitable. In fact, I love my liberal friends. Our contradictory views don’t affect our friendship whatsoever, but I would never date a liberal.

When I tell people this, I’m usually met with surprise and contempt. Basically, the same reaction I get when I tell people I voted for Trump, but I stand by my decision to not date liberals. Like many young conservatives who are tired of having to explain their support for Trump, I’m tired of having to explain my decision to only date conservatives.

I find it funny that when I tell people I would only date other Christians, I’m not met with the same scorn.  Even if they themselves are not religious, they understand wanting to be with someone who shares those same values. I choose to date only conservatives for the exact same reason and yet this decision is somehow incomprehensible.

It’s not that I think people who favor increased social welfare or stringent economic regulation are bad people, it’s just that I’m not attracted to them. I don’t want a guy that thinks capitalists are evil and greedy. I’m a capitalist. I don’t want a guy who thinks building the wall is inhumane. Why? I want to build the wall. No, I don’t want a guy who thinks old school values and traditions are outdated. I like tradition.

Part of the reason this is so important to me is that politics are such a huge part of my life. I’m going to school to study politics. I want a career in politics. I love politics. This love is rooted in my conservative values; my passion for politics comes from my passion for conservatism. Me dating a liberal would mean me dating someone who doesn’t believe in the principles that I have built my career goals around. It’d be like a surgeon dating someone that only believes in alternative medicine.

Another big reason why I wouldn’t date a liberal is that obviously I would want to feel relaxed around my partner. They would need to be someone that I could go to and unwind with. As an outspoken conservative on a very liberal campus, I feel like I get enough flak from pretty much everyone around me. Even my more left-wing friends, while well-intentioned, tease me often for my views. While this doesn’t hurt our friendship, as I don’t take their teasing to heart, it still gets old. I constantly feel like I have to walk on eggshells to avoid a lecture on why Trump is the literal worst or how socialism would fix all our problems. No, I don’t want this from this from the person I’m dating. I want someone that I can rant to about leftists and their crazy antics, someone who will sympathize with me rather than ridicule me.

What it really comes down to is that liberals have fundamentally different views on life than I, as a conservative, do. I don’t hold any animosity towards liberals, nor do I think that they are inherently bad people. My conservative convictions are so intrinsically part of who I am that I could never see myself with someone who holds views so opposite. For me, it’s about finding someone who has built their life on the same principles. Whether this means having the same political views, following the same religion, or having similar career aspirations, it’s important for me to find someone that I’m compatible with. I do this by choosing to only date conservatives – a decision that I, quite frankly, don’t feel I should have to keep justifying.