I Can’t Quite Understand
People confuse me.
I just learned that someone I know and respect in the local community is, apparently, a supporter of a major republican candidate’s 2012 presidential election campaign.
I’m kinda in shock. This … acquaintance … is an artist. An entertainer. Also, a very successful business person, so I guess that fits.
I once voted for a republican candidate, because it served my immediate needs. I have since come to recognize the importance of considering the greater good over my individual desires. Said considerations don’t always win out over said desires, so I certainly can not judge.
I’m just baffled and shocked. I did not think I knew anyone who was supportive of the republican agenda. I’m quite surprised that I know someone who is soundly against a second term for President Obama.
I’m more than a little disappointed.
This, on the heels of an encounter with another group of people. People whom I considered to be friends.
~
They were polite enough when I approached them. However, the awkward silence that followed the pleasantries soon became unbearable. My attempts to break it fell flat.
Eventually, they began talking amongst themselves again, as if I weren’t there. I watched the television monitor between scanning the room for anyone else I knew, before silently slipping away, feeling weird and creepy.
I then ran into yet another acquaintance, who politely introduced me to his friends. The group of us ended up having lovely discussions about a variety of topics. Parting their company involved big smiles, firm handshakes, and sincere hugs.
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Once upon a time, I was advised to note my energy upon leaving a room, a place, a group, a person. Did I feel buoyant? Energized? Elated? Sated? Or did I feel lost? Heavy? Frustrated? Anxious? Angry? Sad?
If the latter, then it might be advisable to avoid that which drained me emotionally, energetically, and/or spiritually.
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Politics drain me.
I’d rather not know of anyone’s political leanings, one way or the other, just as I don’t want to know the intimate details of their bathroom habits, or their sex lives. It’s hard enough for me to navigate socially, without such complications.
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If I’d just left well enough alone… if I’d just come home and gone straight to bed, instead of jumping on the computer to look at Facebook, then I would not have learned that I know an apparent republican supporter.
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‘Course, I also wouldn’t have made this entry… so I guess and I can be grateful for that.
jamezicarius 