Well here it goes again... Another election cycle means another round of arguing, no I should say, debating with my family about politics. We have so few progressives in my family and a lot of conservatives. This means I'm arguing both sides, at times, but mostly staying on the liberal front. My conservative family members, on the other hand, are stuck in ideals and "how it should be" thinking. I'm a religious pluralist, which philosophically speaking, means I think everyone is right and everyone is wrong at the same time. It means I keep my options open. I'm great in an argument, but frustrating to everyone else because I don't pick a side.
So what happens when you spend time FRUSTRATING your family with political arguments?
Last election cycle, I feel like I damaged some relationships. I would throw facts and figures to them again and again. I'm a political junkie, so I can quote and source my content. Many times, my family would come from a belief front. Now you can only imagine the dialog: me quoting facts and my family telling me they BELIEVE. When has this ever produced a logical and rational debate?
I just received an email from my 90-year old Grandfather (cool that he uses email eh?). First off, the guy is my hero! A true stud. He's very much a conservative thinker. In fact, I'd say he's a staunch Republican. His email was a forward from a "friend he respects". The email contained supposed quotes from Obama's books. I haven't gone back to source the quotes, but I'm pretty sure they are from the books. The quotes in question were taken totally out of context and made to paint Obama as a racist. Can you believe it? A racist! I was shocked by the complete disregard for sourcing and context. Naturally, I went nuts on this email. I was all over it. THEN, my family responded... And I hurt some feelings...
Going forward, I'm going to not be so sensitive as to logic/rationality and apply some understanding to the debates. My goal will be to see their point of view and then apply my argument. I guess you could say I'm maturing...
So what happens when you spend time FRUSTRATING your family with political arguments?Last election cycle, I feel like I damaged some relationships. I would throw facts and figures to them again and again. I'm a political junkie, so I can quote and source my content. Many times, my family would come from a belief front. Now you can only imagine the dialog: me quoting facts and my family telling me they BELIEVE. When has this ever produced a logical and rational debate?
I just received an email from my 90-year old Grandfather (cool that he uses email eh?). First off, the guy is my hero! A true stud. He's very much a conservative thinker. In fact, I'd say he's a staunch Republican. His email was a forward from a "friend he respects". The email contained supposed quotes from Obama's books. I haven't gone back to source the quotes, but I'm pretty sure they are from the books. The quotes in question were taken totally out of context and made to paint Obama as a racist. Can you believe it? A racist! I was shocked by the complete disregard for sourcing and context. Naturally, I went nuts on this email. I was all over it. THEN, my family responded... And I hurt some feelings...
Going forward, I'm going to not be so sensitive as to logic/rationality and apply some understanding to the debates. My goal will be to see their point of view and then apply my argument. I guess you could say I'm maturing...
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