Posted by
Bob Atchisson on Monday, April 13, 2009 2:12:37 PM
“Just don’t talk politics.” And so began my cousin’s explanation of why some members of my predominately liberal, Democratic family has continued a practice of boycotting events at my home. This ostensibly began last year during the early months of the election and had now continued into our Easter celebration.
I laughed and asked why. His answer was as fascinating as it was alcohol-induced. “You see, Bob, you can’t go around be miserable just because your side lost. Just like I can’t go around being miserable when my side loses.”
I asked what made him think I was miserable. I even explained that, since the election, I have had as much fun analyzing policy and discussing the state of affairs as I ever had. He again mumbled something about my not being miserable just because my side lost. It was then I understood why liberals are impossible with which to converse. They just assume that everyone is as miserable as them when “their side” loses.
When George W. Bush won both his first and second terms, I was pleased. First of all, it meant that I would need never utter the words President Gore or Commander-in-Chief Kerry. Also, it seemed to indicate that Conservative justices would be appointed to the various benches, free market ideas would flourish, security would be paramount, and, perhaps, the sanctity of innocent unborn life would stand a chance. With the minor exceptions of out-of-control spending – including the first bail out—I can say I was pretty well pleased with the last eight years.
Yet, time marches on and the pendulum always shifts, just as it did last November with the election of Celebrity-in-Chief Obama. I was disappointed. I was, and remain, incredulous about both his eligibility and abilities. I eagerly await the next two election cycles. However, I am not spending my time as this same cousin spent his during much of the time between 2002 and 2008. That is to say obsessively mocking, ridiculing, and bemoaning the president in any personal way with no sense or semblance to my criticisms.
People say he is smart. He won’t release his academic records, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I have, and will, continue to avoid attacking his intellect unlike this same cousin who spend much of the past eight years calling Bush everything from an “idiot” to a “monkey” and many others in between.
People say he respects the military and will be just fine in the face of a crisis. I gave him both the benefit of the doubt and his position. The no-nonsense approach to the Somali pirates indicates that he has the important ability to tackle such a confrontation. His initial flirtations with Russia, Cuba, Iran, and Palestinians, as well as his announced plans to rid the world of nuclear weapons and to halt the missile defense shield, though, give me pause.
People say he has had only a passing affiliation with some of the most radical people ever to surface on the national political radar. I am trying to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but truth be told, he is not making that very easy. This one I may never be able to do in earnest or full. That is simply because I am currently watching the greatest redistribution of wealth in our nation’s history coupled with the largest spending bills in history against the unprecedented backdrop of the American government’s nationalization of industries such as banking and automobiles which only serve to distract from the fact that American sovereignty is quickly falling by the wayside.
Now, I say those things not to incite, but rather because they are facts. And to prove these items, all I need to do is point to a variety of actions and activities over the course of the last 84 days. The devil is in the details. Or in theis case the daily news. I wonder how my cousin would choose to qualify his “monkey” argument with regards to W.?
The real kicker came when my cousin explained that my comments make some people uncomfortable. Let me do a quick deconstruction: “comments” = facts that I like to point out, “some people” = liberal family members, and “uncomfortable” = ticked off that they can’t dispute so they are forced to return fire with comments like “monkey”. When I politely offered that I did not really care all that much about making others uncomfortable because facts are facts, he seemed satisfied that I had now accepted my role as the official outcast in the family. At that point, he popped another Bud Light and began quizzing my recently college-graduated cousin as to whether or not she had voted and on the validity of her assertion that her parents were even registered to do so.
Somewhat confused, she turned to me and asked what he was talking about. I simply answered “politics” and smiled, wondering how long until he was banished to the familial nether regions alongside me. Then, remembering that liberals ascribe one set of rules for themselves and a different set for others, I figured my position as “black sheep” is firmly cemented for many, many years to come. And, by contrast, I could not be happier.