All these incentives—romantic, professional, and social—undoubtedly put pressure on us to adopt the political beliefs of our local communities. But insofar as we cave to these pressures, it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to admit to an unpopular political opinion, and we don’t suddenly change our minds for fear of a few disapproving scowls.37 But when the same forces play out slowly, over years or even decades, we shouldn’t be surprised to find our beliefs slowly falling into line.
