I'm officially suffering from political campaign overload. The negative ads, the near-daily messages left on my answering machine maligning one candidate or the other - heck, it's even coming in the mail now. It's inescapable.
It all came to a head yesterday. Now, I'm a proud Democrat who likely couldn't ever be swayed to vote the other way. I attend a moms' group at my church and it's no secret to me that most of my fellow moms there do not share my political beliefs. When it comes to confrontation, typically I'm a shrinking violet. When my comrades express viewpoints contrary to my own, usually I keep my mouth shut. Right or wrong, it's my way. I simply feel that they won't change my mind and I won't change theirs, so why go there?
I was surprised, then, when suddenly I felt the urge to speak up. "Does everyone know how they're going to vote," my mom friend Beth asked. "Yes," we all answered emphatically. Then the comments started to fly. Two of the other moms are not fans of my man, Obama. The other is on the fence. The two, it turns out, are big Sarah Palin fans. That did it. "I really don't like her," I said. "Why," they asked, sounding a little surprised. I went on to say that Palin was a gun-toting nut who espoused extreme religious views. Uh-oh. My mouth worked faster than my brain. I had not maintained the respectful demeanor that I try to uphold. I think I managed to surprise them. I've been attending this group for more than two years now and had up until that point not made any kind of strong statement.
After my friends (politely) refuted my points, we went on to talk about how unfortunate it is that politics divide people. I couldn't agree more. The truth is, though I don't agree with some of my fellow moms' viewpoints, I respect them and understand where they're coming from. I long ago reconciled myself to the fact that on some issues, we never will agree. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy their company and even forge some lasting friendships. So maybe I'll chalk up my outburst to negative politics overload, or maybe it was a good thing that I spoke up. (After making some the comments that came out harsher than I had wished, I did manage to make some important points, I believe.) I haven't decided yet. Whatever the case, I've made a decision. I'm OK, they're OK.
2 comments:
I commend you for speaking up to your friends! It is a hard thing to do, and sometimes, I too, just zip my mouth and don't say anything. Fortunately, almost all of our friends are on the same page as us -- that is the Obama page! If he doesn'w win, I am going into seclusion! I won't be able to bear it!
AS a 77 year old mother of 4 I too am in a group that does not support Obama,We are a group that have been together since freshman year in high school. They are single issue voters all against Roev Wade.They are Catholics for McCain. However there is a sign Catholics for Obama and it is amazing how many Obama signs there are in Elm Grove home of the John Birch.Well tomorrow we will see and perhaps finally we will have an intelligent president.
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