This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 Hibbing Daily Tribune. My new blog design allows you to look at past columns by clicking “Columns” on the menu bar.
Era of awkward disagreement to end soon (we hope)
By Aaron J. BrownMaybe you’re a Democrat. Maybe you’re a Republican. Maybe you’re an Independent (yeah, whatever). Maybe you’re a Libertarian, or a Green, or a robot who recently achieved sentient thought. In any event, you’re probably well aware there is an election coming up (Tuesday, Nov. 4!).
The TV reminds us of this every day (Tuesday, Nov. 4!). I know that what I call “the TV” is not just one thing, but a collection of many voices, images and content sources. But, as with many American homes, our TV is actually a de facto family member, bleating sports scores, local news, sitcoms and, most of all, commercials. Oh, glorious commercials! If it weren’t for commercials, how would I know which political candidate might stab me in face with a dull kitchen knife? (Hint: maybe all of them, but probably only just a few).
No, I’m not going to tell you how to vote today, even though editorials and columns to that effect are running in papers across the country. It’s too easy, and you are unlikely to be swayed by even the smoothest of my arguments. Hey baby, check out my ideology! Rather, I’ll briefly tell you to vote (yes, you should) after thoughtfully considering the issues (not the personalities, culture wars and, especially, the campaign commercials). But, no more persuasion. Instead, we need to talk about something serious. Something that all of us are going through right now. How are we all going to get along when it’s over? And by “we” I mean all the relatives, friends and co-workers whose political positions we abhor.
You know what I’m talking about. Because we are Midwesterners we often strive for a sense of agreement with others that may not actually exist. We’d rather let our strong disagreement with others go unspoken of, just like our lingering childhood resentments and our heartfelt dreams. So when someone we interact with often, especially someone we like, political disagreements can become like an odd smell – something to try to ignore no matter how much that smell brings tears to your eyes. Here’s an example:
Person 1: “Oh, yeah, we have more in common than you’d think. You think Sarah Palin is qualified to be Vice President and I think she’s dangerously misinformed about just about everything and, in the event she were to become president, would probably provoke a nuclear war with much of Asia… but, uh, we both like hockey … we’re all Americans. Unity!”
Person 2: “Yeah, you think Obama is great and I remain fearful that he’ll unleash an army of secret Marxist Islamofascists. Yeah, we’re pals, me and you. We both like … the flag … and also certain portions of the Constitution.”
And this goes on, day after day, each one more strained than the next. We desperately seek other topics: fishing, football, cute things that kids do, guns, “Dancing with the Stars.” But there’s no avoiding the obvious. We don’t agree. We aren’t willing to yell or show emotion, but there’s an elephant in this room. It’s a big elephant. Not a donkey. An elephant. And that’s the problem. Or not.
Two days from now, this election will be decided. The day after that we welcome a new phase in the political dialogue of our times: the awkward effort to pretend that the election never happened, and that both sides somehow won, even though millions of people think the person in charge of everything is going to destroy the world. That should be fun. At least the recession will give us something else to talk about
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Contact him or read more at his blog MinnesotaBrown.com. His new book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” is out now.
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