Is living in an area with almost no opposing political views unhealthy?

[they don't love you like i love you]

Such as liberals who live in 85-90% Obama areas or conservatives who live in ultra-conservative exurban areas and thus basically just assume everyone around them has the same views they do...and is usually correct. And thus such people end up with no exposure to dissenting views or different opinions.

I say no though, because I like my 86+% Obama precinct and take comfort in knowing how unlikely it is any of my neighbors are anti-gay or teabagger idiots.

[Lief 🗽]

I don't think there's any relationship between being exposed to opposing political views and one's health. Sounds like a bunch of moderate hero, golden mean nonsense to me.

[bedstuy]

It's unhealthy in a political sense to never listen to counter evidence or people who disagree with you.  You can ignore crazy people like Republican politicians, but you should listen to people with reasoned arguments.  If only to better understand why you disagree with them, it's a good thing to get different perspectives.  Try it sometime.

[Lief 🗽]

It's unhealthy in a political sense to never listen to counter evidence or people who disagree with you.  You can ignore crazy people like Republican politicians, but you should listen to people with reasoned arguments.  If only to better understand why you disagree with them, it's a good thing to get different perspectives.  Try it sometime.

Sure, you can get that from reading blogs, articles, books, etc. Doesn't mean you need to live with people with different views.

[bedstuy]

It's unhealthy in a political sense to never listen to counter evidence or people who disagree with you.  You can ignore crazy people like Republican politicians, but you should listen to people with reasoned arguments.  If only to better understand why you disagree with them, it's a good thing to get different perspectives.  Try it sometime.

Sure, you can get that from reading blogs, articles, books, etc. Doesn't mean you need to live with people with different views.

Right, it's awkward to talk to your neighbors about politics anyway.  And, as someone who lives in a 99% Obama precinct, I probably see more diverse types of people anyway.  There is something to living in NYC, riding the subway and rubbing elbows with business execs and filthy homeless people to open up your worldview.

[TNF]

It's practically impossible for this situation to exist for me, so I'd say yes, just because walling yourself off into a 'safe space' is not good for anyone, because you forget what living in the real world is like and forget how to interact with people who disagree with you.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Stop talking about yourself BRTD.

[Zioneer]

With the internet being a thing that exists, no. I live in a very conservative area yet I can choose to go on left-wing websites and internet communities if I so choose. So in effect, I can have my fill of both viewpoints whenever I want.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Stop talking about yourself BRTD.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I don't talk about politics with my neighbours, so it doesn't matter.

[Mr. Smith]

It's unhealthy in a political sense to never listen to counter evidence or people who disagree with you.  You can ignore crazy people like Republican politicians, but you should listen to people with reasoned arguments.  If only to better understand why you disagree with them, it's a good thing to get different perspectives.  Try it sometime.

Sure, you can get that from reading blogs, articles, books, etc. Doesn't mean you need to live with people with different views.

None of that compares to what one may end up overhearing on commutes, or at work, or *gasps* a conversation that ends up going that way for whatever reason.

Not all spoken political views come from direct speaking.

There's simply something to be said to seeing the intent dripping off how one speaks as well as the quality of the argument itself...that other media simply doesn't get. Especially the internet where the freedom to say something truly outrageous exists thanks to anonymity.

[Lief 🗽]

Like most normal human beings, I don't talk to strangers or acquaintances or people I run into about politics. I don't even really talk to my friends about politics, beyond making fun of Republicans for being dumb or whatever. Having protracted political debates or discussions in the real world face to face with a real person is almost always awkward and uncomfortable for both parties so I try to avoid that.

[Mr. Illini]

Meh, my precinct was 80% Obama, and I still feel like I have plenty of contact with those with disagreeing viewpoints, both on the internet and in person, even within my precinct.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

There are plenty of disagreements in areas that voted 90% Obama.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Yes. I think it opens the road for close-minded politics.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

No, after college I will find 100 people who share my exact positions on every issue and we'll move to North Dakota and not have any contact with the outside world.

[Boris]

No, after college I will find 100 people who share my exact positions on every issue and we'll move to North Dakota and not have any contact with the outside world.

http://theweek.com/articles/482427/libertarian-island-billionaires-utopia

[ingemann]

I think the person who ask the very question answer it in the first post. Do anybody really think that BRTD are part of a healthy political subculture? This is like some three armed guy asking whether inbreeding is unhealthy.

[RINO Tom]

So to sum up the point of this thread, it was essentially the OP talking to himself and hoping others would confirm his already-held position?

BRTD: "Is a certain thing unhealthy/bad?"

BRTD: "No, it is not; I do that thing."

[Goldwater]

lol, BRTD.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Like most normal human beings, I don't talk to strangers or acquaintances or people I run into about politics. I don't even really talk to my friends about politics, beyond making fun of Republicans for being dumb or whatever. Having protracted political debates or discussions in the real world face to face with a real person is almost always awkward and uncomfortable for both parties so I try to avoid that.

Ah but that's basically what I'm referring to. Remember too, Michele Bachmann was from this state in Congress for 8 years.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Maybe twenty or thirty years ago, but not today. Even if you live in a 100% Obama precinct (yes, there are actually precincts that went 100% Obama), you can still turn on the TV or surf the news/YT to hear just about any political view you want. You should have a good idea of what the other side's argument is, so you know why you support and don't support something and aren't just supporting/not supporting it because your parents/grandparents/friends/teachers/party leaders/really famous people tell you it's a good/bad idea.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Because reading a post from an anonymous internet poster who's free to be a complete d*ckhead with no consequences is totally indicative of all opposing views and totally won't just reinforce your own, effectively "patting yourself on the back."

[Oak Hills]

Of course it is.