How Many Friends Did You Lose Over This Election? (page 2)

james_woods

I like Ann. She helped me figure out my life chronology, and also baptised in absentia all my long-dead ancestors.

nancy drew

well at least your long dead ancestors will get their own planet to rule

james_woods

My ancestors never killed any puppies.

That is a false rumor about German dog breeders which was started by the Marxists.

atrapado

I lost 0 friends out of 0. :) Hopefully next time I'll be more inform I had neglected politics my whole life so don't know right wing from left wing.

I have never lost one friend. First, birds of a feather flock together. People may not have befriended initially in my more radical days. I was a Politcal Science major and everyone was radical or very progressive Democratic. Our prof said he would pay millions to have a single GOP member present for class discussion. I was at Columbia. Her friend at Ohio State said he would give anything to have a NY student in his class b/c the reverse sitaution existed.

Law school was a game changer for me. I was politics as a profession, not a religion. The East Coast schools are extremely liberal. I never encountered corporate business types who were Blue Dog Democrats before school. I specialized in corporate transactional law and soon I was much more pro-business. Never a modern Republican but I could vote for moderate Republicans. I did sometimes. There were many moderate Republicans whose views often appealed to me more than too liberal Dems. I understood how things fit together more. We had a former Marine in class who was conservative and very articulate. He was not a nut. We were so grateful for his purpose. Discussions were great b/c we were not hearing the same old stuff anymore.

Civility was important b/c you can't make money without civility. Today I see my job as delivering the best service that I can but I also respect others on the other side. We have so much in common, despite our views. Within the last twenty years, a conservative organization, called the Federalist Society, was formed to offset the power of the ACLU in law schools and the profession. The emergence of the Federalist Society improved the quality of the profession. Each group attends the others' meetings and seminars.

My brother in law is a nut job. He cannot give any rationale for his beliefs. I am invited for dinner and then abused about how bad Democrats are and how my religion is garbage. Once I would have stormed out but today I try to direct the discussion to a neutral topic. I believe strongly that when people turn ugly over politics it rarely has anything to do with politics. It has to do with abuse of power and hospitality rules. I volunteered in the Obama campaign, we were told just to say "thank you, have a good day" to Romney supporters. Arguing with them only gives less time to reach potential Obama supporters. Compared to my younger self, it is no longer my role to convert the unrighteous to my beliefs. I respect my beliefs but also respect that others may view it differently.

Some people get too involved in politics. The threads here were a good example. I would be suprised if any post convinced someone on the other side. Perhaps your friend became too involved. Romney came close which is much harder to deal with than a McCain type loss. You may be friends again in a few weeks. Frankly, if I received one more phone call or text from OBama or heard more trite, shallow explanations of important public policy, I felt I would go around the bend.

keyser soze

No actual friends. I have a facebook friend that I've strongly considered unfriending, not because she posts anti-Obama propaganda, but because of the sheer relentlessness in which she does it. It's to the point where my entire homepage is cluttered with it, post after post. It gets really tedious.

How Many Friends Did You Lose Over This Election?

minimus

james_woods

nancy drew

james_woods

atrapado

Band on the Run

keyser soze

james_woods

coffee_black

blondie

Share this