No Family Casualties Over Politics--Not Over Turkey and Gravy

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

No Family Casualties Over Politics--Not Over Turkey and Gravy

 

Here comes Thanksgiving and I am going to have to face some family members who disagree with me on politics. 

 

I do want to correct their obviously misguided judgments, brainwashed perceptions and lack of intelligence, but I'm also interested in the turkey and gravy. Self-righteous rages have never worked well for my digestion.

 

With this in mind, I was bopping around the Internet looking at stuff by a guy named Ira Glass. He works for National Public Radio and is about as progressive as they come. In fact, when I listen to him, I can't stand some of his views so much my teeth start grating. The acid rises in the back of my throat.

 

So why do I listen? Because I am studying story and this guy knows the components of storytelling down cold. He would never admit this, but he is a genie at taking a lousy story about a perfect nobody and making it good. I figure, if he can do that with common folks, what if I find out what is behind what he does and apply it to characters I look up to? So I grit my teeth and extract the gold.

 

As I was meandering around Google looking for more Ira Glass stuff, I came across an item that caught my eye. One lady at NPR, Andrea Seabrook, left that institution and went out on her own because she was tired of being lied to by politicians.

 

Huh... She couldn't stomach it? What could that be about?

 

I tried to look, but to be honest, I don't know yet. Right at the start I stumbled across her most recent podcast called Politics around the Turkey. I listened to it and knew I had to write this post before looking further.

 

I expected to hate it, imagining the theme would be something like how to convince your dumbass conservative family members about climate change or how to preach the blessings of Obamacare or whatever. Instead, I was delighted by the show.

 

It is about how to love your family members and not let political disagreements spoil that love. No major takeaways. No dog-whistles or covert manipulation. No advice on how to prohibit certain topics from the Thanksgiving dinner table. Just small talk about how to get along with family people.

 

Well... maybe there was one point that tickled me more than the others. It was how to use small children as human shields. When an aggressive relative corners you on a controversial political topic, say that is a really loaded issue for you, too loaded to discuss right now, then find the nearest kid or kids and ask about the exciting new toy or video game they are playing with. Look really interested in their answer.

 

 

 

Political disagreements are important and so is being right. As one who is right a lot, I find how to show it utterly fascinating. But respecting and loving the people I love who disagree with me is, too.

 

So I'll trounce my family on politics and, especially, straighten out those relatives who are so stupid they don't hold the political views I do another day.

 

On Thanksgiving, I must not let a beautiful turkey die in vain. No... not in all that gravy...

 

Ah yes... Before I forget... Ira Glass is not invited.

 

Michael

[Gary Fisher]

In my experience, the more you try to persuade people, the less they listen. Maybe because on a primal level they think you're trying to trick them. So I stopped doing that at an early age.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Happy Thanksgiving, Gary.

From the heart.

Michael

[merjet]

I hardly ever listen to Ira Glass, but know of him and happened to listen to his show on Nov 21 while in the car. There was a segment on border patrol checkpoints far from the border and the different ways people were not cooperating with the officers. I laughed when I heard the evangalist who asked the officer if he had been saved and read scripture. The officer quickly let him pass. One can listen here starting about 21 minutes in. The evangalist segment starts at about 27 minutes in.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.