It is Saturday night before the election. I am writing this diary as my girlfriend sleeps because she has to work tomorrow morning. Luckily, this gives me a chance to write something nice about her, just before her birthday.
My girlfriend is an absolute pragmatist. She thinks through issues, she gets things swirling around her head, and lets them settle. She watches the news, pays attention to what people have to say, but never lets emotion cloud her vision. She also doesn't talk politics very often, just listens intently.
The most frustrating aspect of this is that she doesn't talk to me about politics. It has taken me a few years to realize that she just approaches things in a different way. She likes to understand every side. Until now I just liked to argue with the other side. My girlfriend opened up to me tonight in a way that made me understand that we can all have different ways of coming up with some of the very same conclusions.
We were having dinner, the news was on, and she asked me about the OBL tape. She just wanted a reminder, and then I asked her how it made her view Bush and Kerry. I just wanted an honest truth from someone who thinks things through. She told me that this tape makes Bush look like a fool. She believes that we should have taken care of Saddam years ago, or maybe in the future, but it was wrong at this point in time. Bin Laden is our target, not Saddam.
She basically said that it was the wrong war, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. My girlfriend doesn't listen to the political speaches very often, she watched the debates with me, but overall she tries to sift through the grime of the politics, and finds her voice in what facts she can find.
After almost seven years, I now understand how someone truly pragmatic decides political issues. I was not this way. I was stubborn, and truly pigheaded about politics. Not anymore. She has taught me an amazing lesson. I need to use my head for the politics, and my heart for her.
I hope everyone here can learn something useful from someone close to them. No matter where Tuesday ends, we are still in the same houses, the same families, the same cities, states, and country. Take a look around and find something in everyone that you can cherish. You may need the perspective for your next politcal battle.
Don't lose the passion, just don't let it cloud your vision.