I used to find them completely meaningless, until I saw a piece of writing advice about making realistic characters from the other side of the political spectru

I used to find them completely meaningless, until I saw a piece of writing advice about making realistic characters from the other side of the political spectrum. The advice was, "If you're right-wing, you want the state to be a dad. If you're left-wing, you want the state to be a mom". Which is a weird take the first time you hear it, but I've yet to find even one example of a policy position that doesn't fit this filter. And of course, it leaves plenty of room for those of us who don't think the state should be a parent without invalidating the polarity itself.