I overheard my brother-in-law refer to our current President as a “c*cksucker” during a recent stay at my parent’s house. This sparked a political dance/conversation on Facebook between myself and an old friend from high school.
The curious bit about this conversation is that I haven’t seen this women since high school. I have no idea what her political beliefs are, but I have no problem expressing mine to anyone. I don’t tend to hide my open-minded, liberal nature.
The gist, though, was my friend N indicated that “there are 2 things families (and friends) should never talk about…religion & politics.”
Are we really supposed to shut up at our family gatherings or lunch with the girls? Is it really the best choice to ignore our unlike-minded family/friends, especially when they are casting slanderous remarks at the Commander in Chief?
Friends and family must be the playground for political arguments and conversation. Who else knows you? Who else do you know so well, so well you can manipulate with a few choice rhetorically savvy comments? I mean, only you know how committed you great Aunt Jean is to enforcing capital punishment for retards! Memorize a few choice stats and you could easily get her thinking about an issue or a candidate she might never have considered before.
Right now, in Stratford, our police, mayor and town council are in a HUGE political in-figthing mess that involves the police stealing medical records to stop the mayor’s brother from being hired onto the police force, while the town council whines about the “absolute power” of the mayor and tries to get nasty about a — wait for it — community garden (egads!) that he approved without talking to them. The horror.
No wonder people hate “politics” — except that we “people” (re: citizens, voters, Americans) are getting just what we deserve. The more people with the mindset like my friend “N” withdraw from involvement in their own community and the knowledge of their own government, — or refuse to even talk to their own friends and family about what they believe in — the more our governments become a isolated havens for corruption.
Our towns, states and our nation’s governments are breaking down the same way a car breaks down when you drive it into the ground, ignoring the the pings, clunks, and engine lights telling us at every turn it needs service — oil changes, tire rotations, and a good clean out — serious, committed attention from its OWNERS to achieve longevity.
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