Politics Make Strange Bedfellows
I am normally loathe to speak of politics. To spend time trying to convince someone who disagrees with you of your opinion is mostly a waste. To spend time conversing about the issues with someone who already agrees with you is pointless. All too often politics makes for hurt feelings and occasional enemies of our family and friends. Sometimes we find camraderie in people we never knew we had anything in common with.
On various social media, the political ranting has already started. For some, it has been entertaining to watch the candidates of the same party tear into each other, but soon enough it will come down to conservatives vs. liberals and very mean spirited attacks on each other. This good vs. evil approach to political debate has always made me feel a bit sick to my stomach, like watching hobos in a fist fight.
I have my opinions. But I have no desire to convice others that my political opinion is the most correct. As I check my email inbox and Facebook updates, I find many, many politically themed posts. All of the retoric is about simplistic points and idealism which rarely translate to true cause, and true change. Don’t get me wrong, there are many political ads, slogans, metaphors, and quips that are quite hilarious and/or right on point. What gets me, is that people who I feel quite comfortable with occasionally share a political viewpoint that is somewhat jarring to my perception of them.
Having differing political views than your family and friends can be quite stimulating. Engaging in an intellectual debate as to the merrit or folly of a particular point can lead to futher exploration and sometimes a solution or change of opinion. But what I more often see is two hardline approaches that challenge each other to a word based, name calling, sword clashing battle that ends with hurt feelings and ruined relationships. Wouldn’t it be nice to consider that there is more than one solution to a problem and perhaps that people who think differently than you do are indeed good people too?
Will Rogers was/is one of my favorite philosophers. He was a lover of politics but from the stand point of being a virulent critic. He believed that we could do great things but the political ambitions of individuals and parties derailed the process. My favorite political quote from him is as follows:
“This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aide of it. That we have carried as much political bunk as we have and still survivied shows we are a super nation.” Will Rogers 1932
We are a great nation, a great people. Yes we have made mistakes and have allowed corruption. We argue about politics but mostly we want our polititians to take care of business. The vast majority of us to not wish to worry about how to run a nation or manage it’s infrastructure, or foreign policies, or financial markets. Can you imagine if we elected firemen every 4 years? We would be arguing about how to put our fires!
Since we the people are not experts in all these governmental managment positions, we elect experts. And we attempt to elect experts who reflect our positions, ideaology, and interests. What we get, however, is a massive popularity contest in which the person in the suit speaks gibberish into a microphone with the sole intention of impressing the largest number of people that will vote for them. The candidates spend millions of dollars to obtain a job that pays: Senate and House about $174,000 per year, and President about $400,000 per year. Some do it for the fame, some do it for the service to their citizens, I would guess that most of them do it for the powerful connections they make while in office that can lead to major financial windfalls after they leave office.
We argue about what they want us to argue about. They keep us arguing about smoke and mirrors while they do their show. The facts are that Democrats and Republicans have always done this public show and yet behind the scenes they laugh and pat each other on the back. One only needs to look at how former presidents get along after being out of office. They play golf together, join forces to raise money for charity, and generally get along quite well. I see no reason that we, friends and family, should ruin our relationships by getting into heated political debates that for all intents and purposes have little to no net effect on the real political stage.
Vote your conscience. Vote your beliefs. Avoid trying to convice me to change my mind and I will do the same for you. In order to thrive, we must engage life vigorously. But be careful that by engaging we do not cause damage to ourselves, other people, or our relationships. The courage to thrive sometimes means backing down from a fight because in can lead to no good. Good luck during this sure to be action packed political season!
2 Responses to Politics Make Strange Bedfellows
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Your blog is excellent! On this particular subject, my brother and I have always agreed that our family get togethers (which he’s said he would pay to come to if he weren’t already included) never have any strife because we don’t discuss religion or politics.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you. Sometimes, in order to keep the peace. We self edit. It isn’t always nessasary to be an open book on every subject.