For some, Politics isn’t something that lives in their minds rent-free. It’s a topic you hear at your Thanksgiving table at most. For others, however, political beliefs can be a dealbreaker.
Reality TV isn’t always the best gauge of real life, but “Love Is Blind” managed to capture something deeply true in the real world. In Netflix’s reality show “Love Is Blind,” contestants get to date and engage with each other without even knowing what the other looks like. While the show has its usual dramatic twists, tearful breakups, and couples, this season, it reflected a much broader issue.
In season 8 of “Love Is Blind,” we see two female contestants leave their respective male fiances at the altar because of their inability to understand and agree with political issues that were important to their partners. This is a real dating phenomenon, not simply on TV. Many couples are breaking up over political differences, and I think that is a good reason to do so.
For one of the contestants, Sara Carton, social justice and human rights are a big part of her political beliefs, she supports the Black Lives Matter Movement, LGBTQ, and women’s rights, but when she asked her fiance, Ben Mezzenga’s stance, he said, “I’ve just kind of been staying out of it.”
Obviously as a social rights activist this bothered Carton, how can someone not care about human rights and social justice? Even when Carton asked about his church’s views of the LGBTQ+ community, Mezzenga said he didn’t know his own congregation’s stance. This whole time Mezzenga seemed blissfully disinterested in basic human rights.
Another contestant, Virginia Miller, tried to get her fiance, Devin Buckley, to give his stance on issues like abortion. Buckley seemed not to want to talk about the issue and refused to take a position, but he admitted his family tends to be conservative.
As a young liberal woman, and I need to say that so you’ll know where I stand, I fully agree with the decision to break up with a partner who is disinterested in basic human rights and doesn’t have opinions on important issues. I would also agree that if you are uncomfortable with your partner’s political stance, it is also a 100% valid reason to end that relationship. Why? Because if you can’t agree on basic political stances, how will you find compromises in your relationship or even marriage?
Political ideology is more than just personal beliefs; it’s a reflection of identity and morals. When a couple’s beliefs clash on fundamental rights or social justice, it’s a question of whether they can respect and coexist with each other’s values, which can be very challenging. The only way I see this working out is if both parties are only loosely connected to their political beliefs.
As someone who supports LEGBTQ+ rights and is part of the community myself, I couldn’t date a man who doesn’t agree with being LGBTQ+. This is the case of Devin Buckley again; when dating in the “Love Is Blind” pods, Buckley had an awkward and judgemental reaction to hearing that another (female) contestant had dated women in the past.
In a time when politics is “all the rage” and political divisions are increasingly personal, the phenomenon that “Love Is Blind” portrays is truly timely. Trust me when I say more and more breakups will happen over political divides in TV and in the real world.
