I have a friend here in the land of winter who is a staunch Republican. He lives on a corner and displays not just one yard sign for each Republican candidate but three or four signs for each one.
He is occasionally the program chair for a service club composed entirely of people in their winter years. About three years ago, in a non-campaign year, he invited our US Congressman, Bart Stupak, [retiring this year], to speak to the group. Stupak is a Democrat, although he is as firm in his commitment to guns and against abortion as any Republican could be. He single-handedly held up health care reform until he was assured no federal money could be used to help women get abortions.
My friend said that Congressman Stupak did a good job speaking to the club of old people. He didn’t talk about politics at all, but government, telling about what was happening in Washington and what it meant. Afterwards, though, my friend was approached by several members who were angry with him for inviting a Democrat.
“But he’s our congressman,” my friend protested. “He represents us. We need to know what he’s thinking and doing. And what better way to know what the whole Congress is doing than from our own Representative?”
He didn’t persuade them. Stupak was the enemy, and they didn’t want to hear anything from him, not even generic information.
Old people should know better. We’ve been around long enough to know that you often learn the most from those with whom you disagree. Brains shrivel with old age, but our minds don’t have to. There’s nothing quite as pathetic as a narrow-minded old person. Winter is mighty cold if you have no source of warmth but the fire of your hates.
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