Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Ode to a person who is wrong about many things...
Via Steve Silver comes this article from some poor college girl who was shocked, appalled, and heartbroken to learn her boyfriend didn't agree with her on the Israel/Palestinian question.
As I've suggested before, I married someone who wouldn't vote for me, nor I her. Well, that's not exactly true. She might vote for me (and vice versa), but she would almost certainly not vote for some schmuck who held similar positions.
I don't see how people who don't agree politically can date...says the collegian. Apparently the politically aware young people meet today at stop the war rallies, affirmative action bake sales, or in the lobby after staging a walkout of a Daniel Pipes speech. Meeting anywhere else is dangerous, because you might meet someone who has looked at the world and reached different conclusions, which makes them completely undesirable, because when you're 20, the answers to all the world's problems are pretty freaking obvious.
A confession - I have no idea how, when, or under what circumstances I met my wife. It was somewhere in Walker Hall at Illinois State University, probably in the fall of 1992 at some point. I do remember how we got to know each other, however. The lobby of our dorm was a popular gathering place, where people gathered to play cards and argue about world affairs. Oddly enough, despite all the great global truths being blindingly obvious to any 19 year old who aced Poli Sci 105, there were many disagreements among the throng. One in particular was this one girl who was pretty sure that I, for one, was right on pretty much nothing that wasn't related to euchre.
That, I thought, is really smoking hot.
Not that she disagreed with me, of course. There's certainly something to be said for the raw sex appeal of a pretty girl telling you "you're absolutely right," in a breathy tone of voice, there's also an allure in being challenged. And, if you like 'em brainy, anyone who has figured out that most controversial issues are controversial because there are strong arguments to be made on more than one side, and reasonable people can draw different conclusions, is likely to be more intelligent than anyone who thinks only the stupid and greedy vote Republican. (Sometimes Karl Rove is holding a family member hostage, for instance.)
So basically, I met a girl who challenged and supported me, all at the same time. And apparently I managed to do the same, because after I responded to her arguments, she still put me on the right side of the line between "witty and clever" and "pompous dickhead."
So here we are, 15 years later. We have never backed the same candidate for President, and since I think her current choice is John Edwards, I can pretty much assure the world that streak will continue. We will not agree on many issues, both foreign and domestic. We will agree about other things, however, like making each other laugh, listening to stories of triumphs and tragedies at work, watching March Madness while surrounded by dogs, and a few things that are frankly none of your damn business. We will also agree to respect each other's right to make up their own mind, and understand that sometimes decent people get things wrong. And we will come to the conclusion that we are far more together than we could ever be apart.
Happy Valentine's Day, baby. Apparently all these years, we've been doing something amazing.
But seriously, Edwards is a tool.
As I've suggested before, I married someone who wouldn't vote for me, nor I her. Well, that's not exactly true. She might vote for me (and vice versa), but she would almost certainly not vote for some schmuck who held similar positions.
I don't see how people who don't agree politically can date...says the collegian. Apparently the politically aware young people meet today at stop the war rallies, affirmative action bake sales, or in the lobby after staging a walkout of a Daniel Pipes speech. Meeting anywhere else is dangerous, because you might meet someone who has looked at the world and reached different conclusions, which makes them completely undesirable, because when you're 20, the answers to all the world's problems are pretty freaking obvious.
A confession - I have no idea how, when, or under what circumstances I met my wife. It was somewhere in Walker Hall at Illinois State University, probably in the fall of 1992 at some point. I do remember how we got to know each other, however. The lobby of our dorm was a popular gathering place, where people gathered to play cards and argue about world affairs. Oddly enough, despite all the great global truths being blindingly obvious to any 19 year old who aced Poli Sci 105, there were many disagreements among the throng. One in particular was this one girl who was pretty sure that I, for one, was right on pretty much nothing that wasn't related to euchre.
That, I thought, is really smoking hot.
Not that she disagreed with me, of course. There's certainly something to be said for the raw sex appeal of a pretty girl telling you "you're absolutely right," in a breathy tone of voice, there's also an allure in being challenged. And, if you like 'em brainy, anyone who has figured out that most controversial issues are controversial because there are strong arguments to be made on more than one side, and reasonable people can draw different conclusions, is likely to be more intelligent than anyone who thinks only the stupid and greedy vote Republican. (Sometimes Karl Rove is holding a family member hostage, for instance.)
So basically, I met a girl who challenged and supported me, all at the same time. And apparently I managed to do the same, because after I responded to her arguments, she still put me on the right side of the line between "witty and clever" and "pompous dickhead."
So here we are, 15 years later. We have never backed the same candidate for President, and since I think her current choice is John Edwards, I can pretty much assure the world that streak will continue. We will not agree on many issues, both foreign and domestic. We will agree about other things, however, like making each other laugh, listening to stories of triumphs and tragedies at work, watching March Madness while surrounded by dogs, and a few things that are frankly none of your damn business. We will also agree to respect each other's right to make up their own mind, and understand that sometimes decent people get things wrong. And we will come to the conclusion that we are far more together than we could ever be apart.
Happy Valentine's Day, baby. Apparently all these years, we've been doing something amazing.
But seriously, Edwards is a tool.
