Never talk about politics or religion!

(Note: this is largely a reply to a comment in the previous posting)

My grandfather used to admonish me (and everyone else) that one should not talk about politics or religion. He died about a decade ago, but even a decade ago I would still violate his suggestion. I never really talked much about either with him, but I certainly did with everyone else. (my grandfather was very a great person though, I still really miss having him around) Clearly, today I feel little problem with talking about politics in most cases. I will even gladly talk about religion with people, though usually only in a one-to-one basis, and usually with people I trust pretty well. Despite all the postings on here though, I do try to be somewhat cautious about when and where it's appropriate or not to speak of politics.

When I "taught" my classes, I at least for a while, tried to keep my political views out of the classroom. I feel it's extremely wrong for a teacher to in any way try to force their personal opinions on their students. Clearly, some amount of this will happen no matter what, but outright indoctrination is disgusting to me. In addition, it's a very poor manner of persuasion. One only ends up with believers who believe something only because they haven't been exposed to an alternative. There's a good probability those, when exposed to an opposing viewpoint, may switch sides due to the fact that the opposing side will at least have to actually persuade them to their point. I did find it amusing when I polled my 5th period class earlier in the year (probably in November or so) and a slight plurality thought I was a Republican. Clearly, my students did not find it hard to google my name, or look around and find out that I used to work for the California Democratic Party. Thus, later in the class I would sometimes offer political opinions, but I tried really hard to explain both sides of the argument. Whether or not I succeeded is another issue. As a note: I never did hesitate to give my opinions on music, computers, and the sort. The fact that Britney Spears has a horrible voice is not really that much of a subjective opinion. The point that President Bush has been our worst president since at LEAST Herbert Hoover is slightly more arguable. (I'm personally torn between calling him the worst since Harding or worst since Buchanan)

When at Berkeley, I acted as a liaison for the Cal Berkeley Democrats to a now-defunct umbrella group for left-wing organizations on campus. To give an idea of the political spectrum of the room, I was by far the most conservative person in each meeting. I learned that I was wise to be quiet when I disagreed with a view to avoid too much disruption. In addition, I learned to be quiet because if there was a debate, it would last for eons. The group very much reminded me of the People's Front of Judea from Monty Python's Life of Brian... without the humor. I very much remember them planning huge anti-NAFTA rallies, and when they asked me how I would participate, I said that I would not personally participate because I wasn't entirely anti-free trade, but I fully support the rest of them doing so. (I believe free trade is basically inevitable, so we might as well get ahead of the curve... but I also support a massive job training program around the U.S. to compensate, and I support writing labor standards and environmental standards into such treaties) I had more than a few dirty looks for saying that. I later left the group when I received an email from their email list entitled "I am the human bomb" , an article praising the Palestinian suicide bombers... Not the Palestinian people, the bombers. I have very mixed feelings about both the Israeli and Palestinian leadership, but praising people who kill innocent civilians is far beyond the pale.

I also have a problem with the pledge of allegiance in its current form. I don't have a huge problem, but I find it mildly discriminatory and extremely awkward to have the phrase "under God' wedged in the middle of the pledge. Try reading the pledge out-loud without the two words. Suddenly it flows a lot nicer. It was written without Under God. Those words were only added in the 1950s as a part of the attempt to prove that unlike the godless Soviets, we had God on our side (tm). Now, I don't really think it's the end all of political outrages, but given my druthers, it would not be in the pledge. When I was a teacher, I did say the pledge of allegiance every morning with my class, but I would skip over those two words. (since the pledge was broadcast across the school via loud speakers, the fact I skipped over the words was probably not audible) I did not make a big deal of it, I just prefer it the other way. Sometimes it's worth it to take a stand, and make a big fuss. But, I don't believe the two words gets anywhere near that threshold.

In personal terms, I have learned to try to step-softly around some people. I have a very very good friend, whom I recently became extremely angry with due to his vitriolic approach to talking about politics. (the "conversation" ended with the statement, "I hate and despise anyone who supports Michael Moore") He was under stress, but I took it as an implicit threat that he would hate and despise me if I saw Fahrenheit 9/11. That of course convinced me that I must do so. Yesterday when asked about a political matter, I had to flat out tell him that I thought it was very unwise for us to talk about politics. He's still a good person, but for the time being, it's best just not to discuss politics with him for the time being.

I also notice this phenomena a lot with such charged issues such as the issue of abortion. It is such a deeply personal issue, and one that often comes down to such a base issue as one's faith, that it really cannot be argued. I learned this lesson in Junior High, being the only person I could find who was pro-choice debating 1 against 30 in favor of a woman's right to choose. The debate was unwinnable on either side because it always comes down to an issue of faith or one's personal beliefs. At a certain point one cannot logically argue against that.

Maybe my grandfather really meant that because you can never tell if its safe or not to talk about very heavily charged topics, that it's best to avoid them. I'm starting to see the wisdom in that, but I still love speaking with those I trust about these topics. I love bouncing ideas and arguments off of others, and have them explain their reasoning to me. I love hearing people explain their faith and how it has enriched their life. I also love asking questions about their philosophy and understanding of the universe. You do have to be careful though. Right now things are more polarized in the U.S. as they have been at any other point in my life. (Watergate may have been worse, but I'm only 25 so I wouldn't know) Political fevers can run very high. It's pretty clear that I have very strong opinions, but I do try to not completely blow up. If you notice that you can't civilly discuss a topic like religion or politics with some person, just follow my grandfather's sage advice. (for that person)