I find the answer in most cases is worries over personal judgement.

More of us quit doing that and more people will have that conversation.

I usually lead with, "ignore the talking heads on TV."

Worked wonders for me. I enjoy politics and culture again as do others I talk to.

The other basic worry is inability to manage a conversation coupled with the idea of ideology being the means to better ends rather than the reasoning tool it really is. A person who maintains one ideology, sans a working understanding of others, will feel threatened when its merit is challenged.

Fact is we have many solutions to the problems we face with no requirement they all conform to a single ideological frame.