Holidays and Family
Holidays have been notoriously ruined in our family. Halloween had terrible memories. July 4 has been a disaster in the past. And now...Easter.
Politics are the cause of it all this time. Personally, I have always tried to avoid the topic of politics. I have a viewpoint and I try to learn everything from every side. Today was ruined by the health care reform bill. This is a hot topic in the first place and to add the fact that the Queen is mostly a democrat, and our child's husband has made his comments about the bill very vocal. The child in question supports her husband which is perfectly fine, but understanding the reactions of other people was something she was lacking.
How did all of this go down? The younger child went to her sister's for a visit. A discussion broke out about the reform bill and the walk away her sister brought back to the family was "Shae and Ryan are Republicans". Now this may not necessarily be true...but the viewpoint is still there.
Shae was planning to come over today. I texted her and informed her that she may want to avoid the house as I know that she was going to be verbally beaten by the Queen and the oldest sister. So, instead we went for a walk. I imformed her of the situation...she informed me that the opinion of her husbands and not her own. She said she is definitely not a Republican and that her husband is not either. She informed me that the information Ryan had was what he researched and he made his own decision.
Talking about politics always has a give and take. You are welcome to express your views, but the will always be a reaction (likely from the disagreed). A friend of mine used to have a blog expressing his viewpoints about politics and had to shut it down to protect his family from the crazies. Free speech is a national right (says the blogger)...but some people take it too far. Those are the ones that can ruin it for everyone.
Shae and Ryan. I am sorry we are at this point. I hope the family can work through it.
Politics are the cause of it all this time. Personally, I have always tried to avoid the topic of politics. I have a viewpoint and I try to learn everything from every side. Today was ruined by the health care reform bill. This is a hot topic in the first place and to add the fact that the Queen is mostly a democrat, and our child's husband has made his comments about the bill very vocal. The child in question supports her husband which is perfectly fine, but understanding the reactions of other people was something she was lacking.
How did all of this go down? The younger child went to her sister's for a visit. A discussion broke out about the reform bill and the walk away her sister brought back to the family was "Shae and Ryan are Republicans". Now this may not necessarily be true...but the viewpoint is still there.
Shae was planning to come over today. I texted her and informed her that she may want to avoid the house as I know that she was going to be verbally beaten by the Queen and the oldest sister. So, instead we went for a walk. I imformed her of the situation...she informed me that the opinion of her husbands and not her own. She said she is definitely not a Republican and that her husband is not either. She informed me that the information Ryan had was what he researched and he made his own decision.
Talking about politics always has a give and take. You are welcome to express your views, but the will always be a reaction (likely from the disagreed). A friend of mine used to have a blog expressing his viewpoints about politics and had to shut it down to protect his family from the crazies. Free speech is a national right (says the blogger)...but some people take it too far. Those are the ones that can ruin it for everyone.
Shae and Ryan. I am sorry we are at this point. I hope the family can work through it.
Comments
I tell them that I'm not interested in being berated for my views, not do I want to be convinced to change my mind. I'm open to new ideas. I -love- hearing why other people feel the way they do. I like finding a common ground, the give & take of political discourse. I like thinking about things and giving people food for thought. I -hate- when every discussion must end with someone 'winning'.
The problem arises when someone thinks my views are wrong and proceed to tell me why I'm misinformed and the world's going to hell.
The bottom line? 50 years from now, the blowups won't be worth the anxiety. Life's too short for bullshit. There are -plenty- of topics to talk about that aren't shitty and cause fights.