Family Ties

The above-referenced sitcom was one of my favorite 80's classics. It was more well written and well acted than a lot of its ilk, and the family in question rang pretty true for me. And it was funny. The hippie parents who produced a Nixon loving young Republican, the ditzy, fashion loving older daughter and brainy, outspoken younger daughter, I knew families like this - families that, despite their differences, loved each other and were on the same side when the chips were down. I even WAS (and am) part of a family like that.

The character of Alex P. Keaton was endlessly fascinating to me, for a number of reasons. First, because he reminded me uncannily of my oldest brother, who himself was glued to the TV on the day of Nixon's funeral (and who YELLED at me for not showing the proper amount of respect when Bob Dole was eulogizing Tricky Dick). Second, he fascinated me because he was the outlier in his family - the rogue conservative in a family of liberals. And in that way, I found him relatable.

My family, generally, are Republicans. The grandfather I've mentioned so many times, was a staunch conservative. He passed that on to his oldest son, who in turn passed it on to HIS oldest son. But although my father and brother are the most conservative, it's my entire family who falls on the right side of the aisle. My mother is socially rather progressive, but when it comes time to vote, her fiscal side takes over and she votes Republican, as do the rest. I'm the outlier, having never voted for a Republican candidate in a presidential election. This year is the closest I've come. I would have considered casting my vote for John McCain, thereby tickling my father and brother pink, if he hadn't chosen as his running mate someone who is so far to the right that she honestly frightens me.

This election was pretty contentious. There was so much negative information in the media about both tickets, with the vast majority of it fixating on Obama and Palin. Daily, I got forwards from family and family friends positively bashing the man who will be our next president. Some of it focused on his very progressive economic policies. This, I get. To someone who is a fiscal conservative, Obama's policies would be disconcerting, at best. But more of it, much more, was based on his race and on speculations about other parts of his cultural identity, all of which was disproven. These were the emails that offended me. And it further offended me that these people, who presumably know me, and therefore at least should know that I am very passionate about my politics, would think these lies would either interest me or influence me. I also got a great many emails from liberal friends, associates and organizations, pointing out both true and false failings of both McCain and Palin. The difference is that I had the respect for the conservatives in my family and friend base not to pass these emails along to them. I'm really not sure why they can't show me the same respect in return. Maybe next time I SHOULD pass the liberal emails along in return? Eh, whatever. For this time, my guy won, and in the end, that matters a lot more.

Just because my views are different from those of so many of the people in my life does not invalidate them. It also does not mean that I am just some hippie dippy liberal, swaying from candidate to candidate based on nothing more than a given candidate's "it" factor or charisma. I vote based on the candidate whose platform best aligns with the beliefs I hold dear. These beliefs are largely not economically based. To me, the social policies are the key ones. I don't ask anyone to agree with me, but I do ask that people respect that and let me be (which is usually too much to ask). I believe that a gay couple who is committed to each other should be allowed to marry each other, and to raise a child if they so choose. (And furthermore, I believe that being gay is NOT a "lifestyle choice" but a part of our genetic makeup.) I believe that, although I have never had, or paid for, an abortion, that it should be legal. I understand fully the view that abortion is wrong. However, making abortion illegal is, I think, dangerous and reckless (let's be honest - people are still going to have them - just not in a safe, sterile environment) - not to mention a waste of time, since it's already been voted on by the Supreme Court. I believe that healthcare should be accessible to everyone. I and my family are incredibly fortunate to have good, comprehensive health insurance, but I have known so, so many people who haven't, and who have paid far too steep a price for things that, in America, should be automatic. I could go on all day.

In 2000 and 2004, I volunteered for the DNC. I was afraid of George W. Bush from the get go. And as it turned out, I had good reason. It frankly astounds me that Bill Clinton was almost tossed out of office for lying about a blow job, yet George W. Bush wasn't tossed for lying about WMD's and being complicit (unaware?) in his VP outing a covert CIA operative. In the end, that blow job really only hurt Bill Clinton's family (and Hillary is still married to him, by conscious choice), while those non-existent WMD's have had an enormous impact on this entire country. But anyway. I volunteered in those elections and was incredibly disheartened by the outcome, both times. Last night, I had an email exchange with my brother in which he alluded to the decline of our once great nation. What he fails to realize is that millions of us felt exactly the same way in the last two elections. Politics, like everything else, tends to be cyclical. We all deserve to see our candidate win sometimes, and for we liberal leaning folks, it's been a very, very long eight years.

In closing, I would just like to note that, throughout this election season, I found myself sorely missing Tim Russert on Meet the Press. His ability to objectively and incisively get to the root of an issue and the root of a candidate's or pundit's opinion was singularly immeasurable, and I missed that source this year. Particularly last night, I longed for his straight talk and white board. I hope that he enjoyed this exciting and historic election, wherever he is now.