KNOWING YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES

Just when I think I can judge people fairly accurately, the conversation turns to politics or religion and I am floored by the realization that people I love think so differently than I. I tell myself that everyone has a right to think what they think. But, when what they think seems so poorly researched or thought out, I wonder what else do they blindly, impulsively, shallowly, mistakenly on erroneous data, or whatever else is involved in their position.

To tell myself that it should not change my feeling for my friend or relative falls flat. It does change my respect for their judgment, and I find myself trusting their stance on many other things more warily. Occasionally someone will differ but offer very logical (though different from my own) empirical thinking and conclusions based on criteria other than my own which gets me to change my earlier view. However, making a statement by voting for someone you know will have no chance to win, rather than your second choice who might win when there are millions of votes, does not make sense to me. As I listened to interviews of voters and the reasons they gave for voting, I only became more convinced that people don't really bother to acquaint themselves with a candidate but make early decisions based on rhetoric and empty promises. Now why should I be forever surprised at that? I have seen enough elections, especially the last one, when so many people voted for 'a man that looked like someone they could have a beer in a backyard barbecue with', that I should not be startled by these statements.

Perhaps my expectations should be lowered, yet I must be true to my own conscience and hope that people will take the electoral process more seriously, that people will consider all aspects of their lives and choose wisely, that people will stop thinking that plastic=cash, that vacations and the latest technology are more important than assuring the roof over your head is there to stay, that a 'spend today; tomorrow will take care of itself' attitude is acceptable. If only they did not believing vacant promises and studied real possibilities instead. But, alas, that does not seem likely during my lifetime.