Can you let it go? Let the other person have his or her opinion? Shrug it off? Talk politics without raising your voice or casting aspersions or calling names?
I don't talk politics at the store. Occasionally, by hints and by both of us carefully feeling our way, I'll realize that I have a compadre in the store and we'll relax and commiserate. No harm done.
Often, I'll go ahead and declare. "I'm a liberal democrat..." just as a warning that we're wandering into dangerous territory.
It's all right. You can disagree. Please let me disagree.
The world won't end, the country won't go up in flames -- it probably isn't the "worst" or the "best" and we'll just muddle through as usual.
Seriously, we're all Americans -- even us pinkie, commie, socialist bleeding heard liberals.
(Actually, I think I'm a pragmatic liberal.)
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At some point in the last decade I decided not to use cute but disparaging nicknames, to not question the motives of those who disagree with me, and to try not get my temper up -- in fact, the last really bad argument I had with someone was on the far left.
It's a lost cause, I know.
To me, it's just a two-headed one party system. In other words, a false dichotomy (as H. Bruce Miller would put it). Sure, they have social issue differences, but in the end most of those are decided at state level and most, like the war on drugs, will not inhibit an activity just because it is outlawed. Abortions will still happen. Gay sex will still happen. Religious nuts will still infiltrate government.
The real issues are corporate loot and the corruption of our political leaders by wealthy business interests. Both parties are guilty of this. That is why I voted third party.
It speaks volumes that Romneycare is very closely identical to Obamacare. It doesn't matter who wins, in the end, you'll still end up with a corporate mandated, government backed, health insurance policy. And I don't see how that is socialism. It's corporatism.
We have long ago entered the age of Corporate rule.
It's sad how divided we've become. As if one side is going to save us from the other. As a whole, most of us don't care enough to vote. Those who do are held captive by their fears or so driven by personal beliefs that they fall for the same storyline decade after decade rather than question it.
This is the best we can do?
A buddy of mine has identified one source of our cultural sickness: "The Business of Division." It's not politics, per se, it's a money-making proposition.
There's a lot of people getting rich off of driving wedges between people who actually have broadly shared values and hopes. "Liberals" and "conservatives" are no longer people with differing political approaches to addressing the issues of the day: They are warring tribes, each demonized by the other.
Two examples of shills making millions in "the business": Ann Coulter is a talentless harridan with a mean streak a mile wide. She's made millions demonizing liberals, despite being profoundly ignorant of fundamental aspects of American history and politics. She's a circus act, but she sells books and spouts her bile on Fox News.
Michael Moore is a liar and a hypocrite, yet his documentaries win critical praise and he, too, gets to be a multimillionaire and pundit.
There are plenty more where they came from.
Nobody benefits from consensus-building or pragmatic solutions. It's not good reality TV.
And the corporate masters Leitmotiv identifies love distractions and wedge issues; it keeps people from focusing on what is really going on — our descent into corporate feudalism. Keep the peasants divided and at each others' throats and they won't be trying to break into the castle to cut OUR throats.
Jim
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