Marriage and Politics

While at the gym this morning, I read this article about the relationship between marriage/family life and participation in politics; it specifically looked at how views about a woman's role may impact her level of political involvement, whether voting, writing letters to members of congress, or attending a protest.

I mentioned it to Calvin over breakfast. Back before we were dating we spent a lot of time discussing politics. This was just before the 2004 presidential election, and debating the pros and cons of each political party (not candidate as much; neither of us were huge fans of either presidential hopeful) was something we did frequently. Calvin's views overtime changed, as he moved from focusing on a party's stance on a single issue to considering a broader range of issues, and voting with the party that was more closely aligned with a majority of his preferences. (I like to think that this is a result of my persuasive powers that kept him from ending up like the man to the right in the comic below).

Comic available here.

I wonder how Calvin has influenced my own political opinions. We have similar stances on a wide variety of issues- I wouldn't be marrying him if we didn't agree on many of the issues- but there are some where we have differing viewpoints. My parents have wildly different views on most political issues. One of my brothers and his girlfriend are pretty much two peas in a pod when it comes to political views. While I am more engaged in politics than Calvin is, he pays closer attention to a wider range of issues than I do.

Do you and your partner/betrothed/spouse have similar views on political issues? Is that an area of compatibility that is important to you and your relationship? Have you been able to influence each other when it comes time to vote? ;-)