Whitefang Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 I get that. I have two old friends from high school that over the yeas have become staunch political conservatives. Me and one of them still communicate( by e-Mail since he's moved to Florida in '09) and the other refuses to have anything to do with me since he feels because I'm NOT a conservative, I must be some kind of radical liberal "socialist". And my reminding him I'm neither right nor left, but consider myself a "centrist", he feels it's STILL too "liberal" for him. The three of us used to hang, but even the guy that's still talking to me says he cut off communications with the other, claiming he's too filled with anger and hate to make any reasonable and sensible comments. Plus, the one guy who I still communicate with is done on the common ground we stay on. He too is a guitar player( and much better than me, him being classically trained and all) and we both appreciate the same kind of music and other forms of entertainment, and usually converse about concern for other old friends we shared(like, where are they now etc.) and the like. And the other guy even cut off communication with his parents because them and I still used to exchange Christmas cards and occasional phone calls. Sure, I dislike when the political rhetoric gets too thick in here, where it doesn't belong, but sadly I get sucked into some political dogfights because I'm never one to suffer fools and can't keep still or quiet when anybody makes ill informed and misguided asinine statements. Like "Alabama" made about PBS. Whitefang 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Whitefang said: I get that. I have two old friends from high school that over the yeas have become staunch political conservatives. Me and one of them still communicate( by e-Mail since he's moved to Florida in '09) and the other refuses to have anything to do with me since he feels because I'm NOT a conservative, I must be some kind of radical liberal "socialist". And my reminding him I'm neither right nor left, but consider myself a "centrist", he feels it's STILL too "liberal" for him. The three of us used to hang, but even the guy that's still talking to me says he cut off communications with the other, claiming he's too filled with anger and hate to make any reasonable and sensible comments. Plus, the one guy who I still communicate with is done on the common ground we stay on. He too is a guitar player( and much better than me, him being classically trained and all) and we both appreciate the same kind of music and other forms of entertainment, and usually converse about concern for other old friends we shared(like, where are they now etc.) and the like. And the other guy even cut off communication with his parents because them and I still used to exchange Christmas cards and occasional phone calls. Sure, I dislike when the political rhetoric gets too thick in here, where it doesn't belong, but sadly I get sucked into some political dogfights because I'm never one to suffer fools and can't keep still or quiet when anybody makes ill informed and misguided asinine statements. Like "Alabama" made about PBS. Whitefang My statement from earlier in this thread: "There is no middle anymore, the fence belongs to the left, (if you pretend to not care, you're siding with the left)." I had a couple of childhood friends who drifted over to the left..... were 'infatuated' with Obama.... but after 8 years of him, they swung back over to the right. We remained friends all along.... and our political differences never got in the way....sadly, one of them passed away last year....the other is such a strong conservative, you'd never know he started our as an Obama supporter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 On 6/30/2021 at 1:45 PM, DanvillRob said: My statement from earlier in this thread: "There is no middle anymore, the fence belongs to the left, (if you pretend to not care, you're siding with the left)." But you see; I'm not pretending to not care. But my friend figured that if I didn't swing fully to the right, then it must mean I'm fully on the left. A kind of riff on the "if you're not with us, you're against us." kind of silliness. The "fence" in this case is allegorical. the point at which the differing ideologies separate. Which means it doesn't "belong" to either side. And that your friends lacked grounding was tragic. Nobody(IMHO) with any true set of personal principles can easily "swing" from one ideology to another. They obviously had no idea what it was they were looking or hoping for. And it's truly sad your one friend went to his grave without that assurance. And I am sincerely sorry for your loss. If my long time "ultra" conservative friend passed on before me I would truly and deeply grieve at that loss. Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 WF - Wow ! your ultra-conservative friend cut off communication with his parents because they kept you on their Christmas Card List? That's unbelievable! I've found many people who claim to be 'in the middle' (aka "Independent") are either confused by the media and can't defend a position, or they are afraid 'to come out' and let their friends and family know whether which way they 'lean' to maintain relationships. Sort of like being afraid to not be 'Politically Correct'. And everything is becoming 'political'. Guitars made in China? United VS Divided ? As we have been pushed to pick sides - it is human nature to defend your position. People tend to stop emailing and texting friends who constantly challenge (actively or passively) positions they've decided are correct. That's why Social Media is so attractive...dare I say 'dangerous' ? You can alienate people you don't know. For fun and profit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Well, the only things I think are "wrong" about either side are the perceptions each side makes about the other. On the whole that is. Each side, both the left and the right have their shares of extremist looneys. But those extremists aren't representative of everyone in their camps. I have what some might consider a childishly naive philosophy how best the country might be served. And it involves the widely accepted symbol of this great nation, the American Bald Eagle. Ever see one in flight? I've only seen film footage of them, but it is a breathtaking sight to see one majestically flying high in the air, soaring to great heights. And how does it manage to do that? Well, surely not by flapping one wing! If the Eagle flapped only the left wing, it would spin in circles on the ground, get nowhere and kick up a lot of annoying dust. It would be the same if it flapped only the right wing. So obviously.... The eagle( like this country) needs BOTH wings to work together, in harmony, to reach it's greatest heights. Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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