When I was a kid (50 years ago), my parents and their friends sat around and yelled and debated and drank wine (and did plenty of other things) over politics. It was incredibly passionate, but it was really just a board game. A shared false reality where one’s deep opinions could change the world! It didn’t actually sway minds or influence elections. In the end, people voted their guts and presidents came and went and the country rocked back and forth between conservatism and liberalism.

Absolutely nothing has changed since those days, other than the Internet and the 24 hours news cycle has increased the size of the board.