Anna Sophia Lotman

Opinion contributor

For my parents, the defining moment of their generation came when John Lennon was murdered. For my older cousins, that moment was 9/11. For my peers and me, it was Nov. 8, 2016 — the day Donald Trump won the presidential election.

Upon hearing the news, I locked myself in my room, crying and FaceTiming my best friend. Downstairs, I could hear my father roar, “Woo-hoo!” His sentiment was surely the only one of its kind throughout the neighborhood.

Welcome to my life as a 16-year-old in liberal Los Angeles.

Even though my whole family is deeply Republican, I’m a die-hard Democrat who attends an ultra-progressive high school. They read The Daily Caller and keep the TV tuned to Fox News; I favor socialized medicine and participated in the 2017 Women’s March.

At first, I struggled to level with my friends about my family’s political views. I’d always assumed that Democrats and Republicans were just two different groups, with two cute mascots (elephants and donkeys), neither right nor wrong. Politics wasn’t a window into your soul; it was just another subject discussed by adults.

My own political consciousness raising

As I’ve grown up, it’s been made painfully clear to me that the party my parents support isn’t just different. It’s wrong, evil, unfathomable.

Exaggerate, I do not. Think about what it’s like for a teenager in Santa Monica to reveal that her ‘rents are Republicans. You might as well announce that you’re a child predator.

The usual response? But my parents are so nice — how could they support (fill in the blank of the worst thing you can think of)? Here on the California coast, the very word "Republican" should come with a trigger warning.

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Let me take you inside a typical dinner with my extended family. My dad enjoys stirring the pot, so once appetizers are served, he’ll ever-so-casually say something like, “You know, Anna Sophia is a Democrat.”

You’d think E. coli was found alive and kicking in the Caesar salad.

A nice family dinner is quickly transformed into a debate. My aunts begin lecturing me about the sins of liberalism, while my grandpa just shakes his head. “Oh Anna Sophia, you probably believe global warming is real too!” Bear in mind: This is a man who named his dog Hillary because she’s a — you know.

God help me if they knew what subject I chose for my eighth-grade presentation: Roe v. Wade. Obviously, I’m proud of my project and passionate about a woman’s right to her body. My grandma, on the other hand, thinks abortion is cold-blooded murder.

Lessons from my family, to yours

Now, I’m not the first teenager whose political beliefs stand in sharp contrast to those of her parents. Far from it. Yet as we approach the red-hot midterm elections, I believe that our family dinners offer a lesson for America.

Too many people today see politics as a life-and-death, black-and-white battle. They equate your politics with your integrity.

But life is so much more interesting than that. If I took the view that anyone who supports Donald Trump is a fool, then I’d never get to know the kind, warm, generous people that I’m lucky — and proud — to have as my relatives.

As much as I disagree with them about how to lead our country, my family has never questioned my patriotism, my intelligence, or my sincerity. (Take note, Mr. President.)

On the contrary, they’ve encouraged me to find my own voice and to develop my own ideas. They cherish, above all else, my right to be wrong (as they might put it).

So what if they think I’m naïve? So what if they tease me? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anna Sophia Lotman is a junior at the Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, a high school in Santa Monica, California.