Cognitive Dissonance

I should know better not to discuss politics, (and taxes or religion) with my sidewalk friends* but I have slipped up recently and have been very surprised. The people here are very kind and generous so I am blown-away when they say they voted for Mr. T. I say "I'm sorry to hear that but I still love you," and I laugh puzzling out what feels like cognitive dissonance. My only thought is they must be getting their mis-information from some other source than me. Perhaps they feel this way about me. When I see T+P bumper stickers on the cars of people who have always been kind and generous to me, I shudder. I will not let it ruin the friendship but I am nonetheless shocked. Recently I said "I can't stand Mr. T because he is a trigger for me. He is just like my pathological narcissist mother and my parents played those NY manipulation games with me when I was growing up. Luckily I ran away but I still carry the emotional scabs, bruises, and scars." My friend understood.

* people who I have chatted with for over 2 decades while walking through their neighborhood with my dogs.