My closest group of friends are all very liberal, and now I don't want to even hang out with them because they are so ignorant. They are nice people and want things like "free" education and "free" health care because they think everyone deserves it, but even when I present them with sound economic proof that nothing is "free" and anything that the government gets involved with becomes more expensive and of lower quality, they
still say they want the "free" things. I can't handle it anymore, but I don't want to not hang out with my friends because of their failure to understand sound economics.
I have found that life is a bit more enjoyable when I try to turn problems into opportunities. I'm not always successful in this and I allow myself to get frustrated at times too. When my liberal friends talk about collectivist solutions to perceived problems, I try to see that as an opportunity to make a case for free markets and practice my argumentation skills. Sometimes I argue in support of an explicit principle like self-ownership or non-aggression, but usually I like using the Socratic method. The Socratic method forces the other person to rationalize his position, doesn't require in-depth knowledge of an issue, and it keeps the conversation less confrontational (I'm just asking a few questions out of curiosity, right?). I avoid arguments with statistics since you can never win those. People will believe whatever numbers they want to believe, but I'll sometimes go Socratic on them just to see how far I can get:
(hypothetical conversation)
Friend: We need universal healthcare because XX% of poor kids die every second for lack of insurance.
Me: What percentage is acceptable?
Friend: 0% of course!
Me: How much would it cost to achieve that level of coverage?
Friend: XX skrillion dollars
Me: Where will that money come from?
Friend: Taxing the rich and the corporations!
Me: What tax rates are necessary to raise XX skrillion dollars from the rich and corporations?
Friend: Uhh, I'm not sure....
So at some point, the friend will have to say "I don't know" to one of these questions and you can leave him with something to ponder. "What tax rate do you think corporations will be willing to pay for universal health care? Are you sure your proposed rates are less than the acceptable rate?" Again, nobody wins these arguments but you can walk away knowing that you established that the friend hasn't thought everything through and maybe he is less certain of his position after your conversation.
Anyway, the point of all this is to say you have an opportunity to practice your arguments in support of free markets and other liberty topics. I'm no expert at persuasion or debating, but I can say that my liberal friends no longer bring up politics when I'm around and a couple of them have even come around to support Ron Paul.
Congratulations on your opportunity!
