I am in the same boat. Very conservative (Libertarian really) for most of my life, but seeing value in a variety of opinions now. The unbending dogmatic positions that are now popular on both sides are very interesting.
Those positions - ideology, team politics, identifying with a movement - really suck. I think peeps are more alike than diff, but you'd never know it when they're entrenched, seeing others as Others and as the enemy.
no name calling here, and I'll remove the name to protect the guilty if asked, but take Mr. Bugeye - he thinks he disagrees with me on some things - we do, though prob a lot fewer than he thinks - so he lumps me in with
libruls and
PETA, because they're bad guys.
Me, in
PETA?!? that's what happens when ideology and team politics/religious identification trump thinking independently.