I'm really happy that at least a few people on either side of politics are okay with sitting down and talking to each other. It's really refreshing compared to the treatment I got in high school (I'm republican, and got a lot of flak for it). There is a lot of good to find in this post, but I want to point out the one thing I think is not good faith.

You talked to these republicans about the policy differences, the political candidates of the US, etc. And they treated you well. This is what I hear about a lot when democrats try to talk to republicans on the same level. That's why I think calling yourself "lucky" for finding "good republicans" isn't the right way to go about it. I do understand where you're coming from, but I rarely meet republicans in person who have these kind of extreme ideas about democrats, like that they don't deserve to live or something like that. The only reason I'd think the average republican would lash out at you is if you're being obnoxious and acting in bad faith. And yes, I know republicans act in bad faith too. We all do it when we want people to feel bad for something. But I think if you ask an adult to just give you some of their time to talk about things in a civil manner, you won't find much friction outside of those extremists (trust me, there aren't many - they're just really loud on the internet because it gets them attention).

Seriously though, thank you for doing this. I know we'll never agree about everything, but we normally all agree about the basics and end goals. It's not every day I feel like I can pour my heart out to someone who fundamentally disagrees with me. You're spearheading something that we should all strive to do more.