I try not to discuss politics, especially on the Internet. I don't mind the heated arguments people get in over which side is right and which side is delusional/uninformed/evil but I just don't want to get a headache thinking about how much of a mess we're in.
So I won't be discussing my politics (although it's kind of obvious from my blog name, isn't it?) but something that's been bugging me. Last week, I had a conversation with a 12 year old (for anonymity's sake, let's call her Emma) who had some very strong opinions on a lot of current issues. However, I happen to know that these beliefs come straight from her parents, with the help of a particular news source and probably also online. She has every right to those opinions, but I wonder if she even knows why she thinks that way.
This made me very grateful for my parents' policy of not talking about politics when I was younger. At the time, I didn't like it - I remember in elementary school being upset that my parents wouldn't tell me who they voted for. It was during the 2000 Presidential election and we had done a school project where we had to research the candidates and decide which one we liked, so I wanted to know if they felt the same way. I still don't know who got their votes. On the other hand, even without talking to Emma's parents, I know exactly who they voted for, and I'm sure she does too (just not in 2000, when she was one).
I don't know how different my views would be if my parents had told me. They're both pretty moderate so I wouldn't have gotten a clear vision of the "correct" political side like Emma has, but it might have made me dilute some of my strongly held beliefs. I've built my political ideas from a lot of different sources and values and they continue to evolve, but no matter what, I know they're my own. No one told me what was right to think and I didn't try to think like anyone else.
I think that's especially important in our sound-bite friendly political climate. People choose one side or the other without knowing why and then declare it the best. Sometimes, you can't even talk to people from the opposite party without being called names or yelled at. I admit that I have said and thought some not so nice things about the opposing party. I guess it's human nature, this splitting into two camps over some issue. And because this is sort of a writing blog, let me also say that politics is starting to play a bigger role in Delaney's story than I originally intended. Bring on the headaches, book.
Official More Blessed Word Count: 6,812
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