Reply #27: I know you don't want to hear it, but it still needs to be said,

[MadHound]

Stand up for yourself and your beliefs. If you let people intimidate you into being silent, then they've won.

I also live in a very red county in a red state. Yet I still talk politics, argue, persuade, and am actually successful in changing people's minds. I have yet to receive any threat of violence, though that might well be due to my size(six five).

But one thing I do try to do is find commonality with these folks. Many conservatives aren't as dumb or uninformed as you think, and the more you know some of them, the more you will actually be surprised by the fact that the two of you can find areas of agreement.