Talking Politics

Our family drove back to SD last weekend to visit my grandparents who have recently moved into the local nursing home following my grandpa’s surgery. I’m happy to report that they are doing very well! Grandpa seems to be getting stronger everyday.

Well, it’s been several months since we made the long, 6 hour trip back home, and during the drive I was reminded why I miss taking these long road trips. I actually get to talk to my husband. It’s an amazing concept, really. There’s nothing like being trapped in a small space, for hours on end, to facilitate stimulating and thought-provoking conversation. After crossing the Minnesota/South Dakota border, our focus of conversation took it’s usual turn from "Retirement", to "Politics".

As some of you may know – my husband and I have a history of political polarity. While I responsibly and conscientiously lean to the left, he favors the soul-less right side of the fence. For example, prior to the 2004 presidential election, our neighbors were all witnesses to the battle of political yard signs along 44th Place and Frankfort Pkwy. We also have great memories of a Halloween party in which Bill dressed as John “Frankenstein” Kerry, complete with flip-flops, a communist lapel pin and several purple hearts applied with Band-Aids. I, on the other hand, sported a Dubya mask, military fatigues, a gun, a “Halliburton” hat, and even labeled my ass with “Mission Accomplished”.

So, you may say we have a slight difference of opinion.

But…the amazing thing that I discovered on our long trek to SD, was that aside from our differing political end-points, once broken down into small topics…we really aren’t that different. It’s not that we haven’t had this exact same conversation hundreds of time before. In fact, it may surprise you to know that some of our favorite topics are religion and politics. (now, you’re probably thinking that the Gallagher’s must really be the life of party!!) I’m not sure if we just discovered this unifying fact at this time because we were actually calm enough to hear what each other had to say…or that we may actually be sub-consciously converting one another to the other side.

The key to this discovery lies in the fact that we each weigh the importance of the issues very differently. For example, we both pretty much agree on the social issues of abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research…but Bill doesn’t think they are important. And when it comes to issues of economics and gun control, our opinions are really not that far off either. It’s just that, to me, they aren’t as important. As for foreign policy, health care, and the war in Iraq...well, I'll just leave those for another time.

So, don’t get me wrong. There is no way in hell I’m crossing over to the dark side. And I have a feeling that Bill won’t be singing “Peace Train” anytime soon either. But, it certainly does make for an interesting marriage…and I wouldn’t have it any other way:)