Are you apolitical? Would you date someone who is apolitical?

(Using a throwaway since my friends know my username.)

Basically the title.

My girlfriend of four years has never been into politics. If pressed for an opinion, she’s got good ideas, but never talks about politics on her own. I’ve always been a really politically active person and that’s an important part of my life.

It’s always been clear that her family votes consistently Republican (we live in the US). It bothered me a little bit when it looked like we were heading for civil war in 2020 (still think we might..) but her family is fun and pretty much accepts her. Not enough to vote for her right to get married or have kids but whatever. She’s really close with them and we spend a lot of time with them.

Her mom especially doesn’t like talking politics, and has a problem that I post stuff about the upcoming election. When I bring this up to my girlfriend she says not to instigate anything with her mom.

If this were my family I would have already disowned them. In fact, there are members of my family that got left out of our lives growing up because of their political beliefs. I can’t help but judge my girlfriend for sticking by her family but I also know that it must be hard to be so conflicted.

I hear about (straight) couples all the time who land on two different sides of the aisle but somehow make it work. I guess for me it’s different because the government in question could prevent us from living our lives.

I’m looking for perspectives from people in the same kind of relationship. Also, perspectives from people who keep their republican (or otherwise conservative or anti-gay) family members in their lives. How do you separate the personal and political?

ETA: “apolitical” is my word not hers. She doesn’t actively seek out political news, she thinks it’s rude to talk politics in public, and she has forgotten to vote in major elections in the past. However, she works with inner city kids for a living so it’s not that she doesn’t care about the issues. I guess my title should have been more about her family and whether it’s ok that she’s so lenient with them. We’re pretty serious and live together, so I think if this were a dealbreaker for me I would have left already.