[bright eyed]

I think the terms liberal and conservative are very limiting and prevent us from seeing where we all find things in common.

I find it is more helpful to see "problems" and "solutions." Many years ago most people would not agree that climate change was a "problem" - now that more people agree many more of us of any persuasion are seeking solutions.

You could go down a long list of issues and find where people will eventually come to find consensus because the problems become beyond the point of argument - they are just more obviously bad and recognized by everyone and impact beyond a small or fringe group of people.

Of course this falls into the problem of the "tyranny of the majority" - and why marginalized groups have resorted to more "visible" tactics like marches or such to gain visibility - but if done well, once educated, the public will become educated and even marginalized issues can become resolved.

i think the bigger problem is whether you are open or closed minded - willing to hear out people's arguments/reasoning and think through your logic -

and most importantly be willing to shake your own views to new or different information. the challenge is also to learn how to listen "beyond your personal experience" - that is often a roadblock in these types of conversation where one person says "but i don't understand (because it hasn't happened to me)" or "but it's not how it works (for me)" etc...while you may not understand what it is like to be a minority, a woman or whatever you are not, if you "listen" and not measure what someone is sharing against your own experience (what people see as the "truth") then the conversation will go a lot further. If both people are just defending their position to be "heard" not much will be gained.