My friend Lisa threw herself down in her desk chair and ran her hands through her curly hair in despair. \u201cI just don\u2019t know what to do, you guys! Ugh! HELP ME!\u201d She bemoaned, \u201cHe\u2019s a really great kisser and he\u2019s really funny and I like him\u2026but he\u2019s a Republican! What should I do!? UGH! Dammit!\u201d The rest of us were cracking up. Lisa, the most liberal of all of us, had unknowingly started dating a guy whose political views were rather conservative in comparison.<\/p>\n
Lisa joked, \u201cHe said something against Roe v. Wade, and I told him, \u2018If my mom were here, she\u2019d kick your ass.\u2019 He thought that was funny and he laughed. That\u2019s a good sign, right?\u201d She looked at me and our other friends questioningly. \u201cWould it be terrible if I had sex with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Oh dear God.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
My first response was, yes, yes it would be. But then I stopped and started to think it over. Who am I to tell her? I only know how I feel about this issue for myself. Actually\u2026how do<\/em> I feel about this?<\/p>\n I sympathized with Lisa\u2019s pain. A while back I went on a date with someone who I thought was a liberal, only to find out that he was \u2013 no, not a conservative \u2013 actually a Hillary supporter who was now abstaining from voting because, and I quote, \u201cThe country didn\u2019t care what I said the first time, so why should I vote again?\u201d I tried to get past this blip in our conversation (now I know why you shouldn\u2019t talk politics on the first date), but as open-minded as I tried to be, I mentally took note of the attraction level dropping\u2026dropping\u2026dropping\u2026dead<\/em>.<\/p>\n The first time I attempted to watch Obama\u2019s acceptance speech, I will admit I was feeling bored and disillusioned. It didn\u2019t help that a friend I was watching it with, an avid Hillary supporter, had taken to mocking Obama\u2019s speech every couple of minutes. Maybe I should\u00a0 help her heal<\/a>.<\/p>\n At around 11pm I went to bed. The next day I re-watched Obama\u2019s speech on Youtube and I thought it was very moving, especially the last ten minutes or so. I must say though, Dennis Kucinich stole my heart last week. Sorry, Keith Olbermann, I have a new crush. Sigh. How I flit from man to man<\/em>. Did anyone else see his speech at the DNC?<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bVp9cWOcZ7g&feature=related<\/a><\/p>\n As I was watching it I grinned from ear to ear. He is a cheeky one, he is, that Dennis. Where\u2019s his soapbox? I imagined him perched on a crate on a dirty street corner yelling about the rights of workers, and maybe Emma Goldman would be nearby rooting him on. He spoke passionately and poetically and mischievously. You could see it on his face, he was having fun. I haven\u2019t seen all of the DNC speeches yet, but of the ones I have seen, I thought his was the best, the most rousing. Why wasn’t this guy running for President? Oh\u2026wait\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n I suppose he speaks his views so honestly and passionately because he can, maybe he knows he isn\u2019t going to win (that\u2019s cynical of me), so might as well use his intelligence to get some people riled up. Hell, I\u2019m a liberal and I got inspired. Of course Kucinich was preaching to the converted, but I\u2019m just glad he spoke at all. I\u2019m awake, Dennis! I\u2019m awake! I don\u2019t know about the rest of the folks in this country\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n I really have to wonder, though. Is it an ego thing? Why do I get so turned off to someone who doesn\u2019t share my political and social values? Like, come on<\/em>, if you didn\u2019t think Kucinich\u2019s speech was awesome, we\u2019re not right for each other. I KNOW I SHOULDN\u2019T SAY THAT. That isn\u2019t even true. Small differences like that aren\u2019t dealbreakers, it\u2019s more of a big picture thing. But I tend to believe that a person\u2019s politics are a part of who they are, what they stand for, how they conduct themselves in their daily lives. If someone I was dating told me, for instance (and please keep in mind these are just my own personal dealbreakers):<\/p>\n They own a gun. Dealbreaker<\/em>.<\/p>\n They enjoy going to strip clubs. Dealbreaker<\/em>.<\/p>\n They do cocaine. Dealbreaker<\/em>.<\/p>\n They believe that Jews (or anyone, really) are going to Hell. Dealbreaker<\/em>.<\/p>\n They expect me to be a housewife. Dealbreaker<\/em>.<\/p>\n They are a Republican. Dealbreaaa<\/em>\u2026..wait a minute, Emily, just hold on there a second.<\/p>\n Is this one really okay? Is it really on par with the others? Let\u2019s examine this here. Someone could be voting for John McCain and not be an evil person. I know people who are voting for McCain who aren\u2019t evil people. They\u2019re not stupid. They\u2019re pretty awesome people. But for many reasons, we just disagree. There are also people who are voting for McCain that just don\u2019t like Obama\u2019s economic policies but they agree with his stances on social issues. I shouldn\u2019t be lumping people into categories like this until I know all the facts.<\/p>\n But then\u2026what about after I know all the facts and I\u2019m still turned off? I can be friends with Republicans, I can be friends with Democrats who are abstaining from voting or are voting Republican, I can be friends with someone who is apathetic, but still, I don\u2019t think I can date them. I don\u2019t want to think about one day possibly having a family with them and all the complications that would arise. I don\u2019t think I could even just have a fun little romp in the sack with them (how\u2019s that for sexual misconduct, buddhistfemme<\/a>?). Even if they were really, really good looking. I don\u2019t think I could get in the mood.<\/em><\/p>\n Or, I joked to Lisa, \u201cMaybe the sex would be better because there\u2019s this tension built up, you know? Like angry sex.\u201d I\u2019m not sure if I was, in fact, joking.<\/p>\n The truly sad thing is, three years ago, I was politically apathetic. I<\/em> wouldn\u2019t have dated me 3 years ago. I\u2019d like to think that I\u2019m personally very open-minded and accepting, but in this case, I\u2019m not. Hello, my name is Emily, and I\u2019m a close-minded liberal.<\/em><\/p>\n I guess, after everything\u2019s said and done, I have become so wrapped up in politics and what I personally think is \u201cright\u201d and \u201ccorrect\u201d and \u201cintelligent\u201d that I don\u2019t think I can have a romantic connection with someone who doesn\u2019t share my major views. With such an important election upon us, the pressure really is on. I almost feel like my agreeing to go out with a Republican would act as some sort of positive reinforcement and I should not be encouraging problem behavior (I know, that\u2019s a little sick). Instead they should end up dateless and lonely and then maybe they\u2019ll vote Democrat so they can get some action. With the self awareness that that is, of course, a totally ridiculous statement that I don\u2019t really mean, I have no idea what I would do in Lisa\u2019s situation. It would depend entirely on the person. I support her in whatever decision she ends up making, and I look forward to the endless comedy that will come out of it.<\/p>\n Damn. The Montagues and the Capulets got nothin\u2019 on us.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-BQMgCy-n6U<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n (Notice the red and blue in the background? Coincidence? I think not!)<\/p>\n Please share your experiences, thoughts, and Close-Minded-Liberal support group hotlines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My friend Lisa threw herself down in her desk chair and ran her hands through her curly hair in despair. \u201cI just don\u2019t know what to do, you guys! Ugh! HELP ME!\u201d She bemoaned, \u201cHe\u2019s a really great kisser and he\u2019s really funny and I like him\u2026but he\u2019s a Republican! What should I do!? UGH!…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-media"],"yoast_head":"\n