Came upon this inspirational (holding up sarcasm sign NOW) article this morning on my newsfeed.
I am honestly not that surprised, or in fact upset, about the contents. Oh, I was, when I first read it. Worked up a minor head of steam while scanning through it, too. By the time I finished it, my compartmentalization centers had kicked in and relegated it to the spam box section of my brain, at which point I decided not to waste time being pissed that people with such asinine ideals get any airtime. After all, if this man and those who think like him want to spew their venom, it cannot possibly help the repubs very much. I can imagine some people being offended, and some shaking their heads and bleating their agreement. What I do not see is lots of new converts experiencing epiphanies that this is the one true party to represent them. I believe divisive ideals like this are insulting to everyone who hears them, even those who spout them (although they may not see it that way). This man is simply stirring the pot and inciting us to rip each other apart. Look at me, though. I’m no better, really. When I titled this post, I reverted to a juvenile (but, I maintain, still comically viable) jab ala Wayne’s World. I think I will leave the title as-is, just to underline the point.
Here’s the thing that really bothered me about this…….
This afternoon I was out shopping with my mother. The aforementioned article came up in conversation. As I expected, she was not overly impressed with the statements of this misogynistic man. However, I was also treated to her theory that he was a covert Liberal Democrat who was acting under cover to infiltrate the Republican party and instigate the false belief that the repubs are waging a War On Women, which, of course, is patently false. Repubs are, after all, the holy party. They are Right With God. She made me so sad. That is what is really bothering me right now. I hate to have the divide between us thrust into my face by some hate mongering man who, with any luck, I will never meet and have to be polite to.
I am fully capable of cruising through life discounting the ideologies of strangers with whom I disagree. I can post my opinions, tweet, +1, and generally shout from hilltops until I feel like my own point has been made and perhaps I have shined a little light into the darkness. It is much harder to come up against opposition from friends and family. You know you will never convince or convert them, just as they will likely have little sway with you. So you sit in silence with an impassive face while they spout and sound off. It turns my smile upside down.
