I do a good job of keeping politics out of my public exposure.
Rarely do I post a blog related to politics. On Facebook, those types of posts are among the few I actually hide from my news feed when they show up.
While I enjoy a robust discussion about politics, I find all too often the decibel level begins to spike and then a funny thing happens: as the volume increases, the amount of listening decreases.
My opinions on political positions are fluid and mixed; “conservative” here and “liberal” there. I am registered “NPA” (no party affiliation) so that I can support the best candidates and policies without a label applied to my beliefs.
I also like to think that an open posture allows me to give fair hearing to both sides of any political debate.
Unfortunately, like religion, politics is a passionate subject which all to often seems to run into the roadblock of “I’m right and you’re wrong”. Rarely is anything ever so simple in politics (just like life).
A presidential election offers an extraordinary opportunity to engage the minds of the American people, a process unlike anything else for galvanizing public opinion, even if that is a misnomer (how often have you ever seen “public opinion” agree on anything?).
I appreciate a good dialog about politics and I engage with people who seem to understand the value of differing points of view.
Most other times, though, the volume gets so loud that I can’t hear you.
