Recently I had opportunity to briefly chat with a man at an event that was political in nature, but attended by people of both parties. It was small talk until I asked if he was a Democrat. He said that no, he was a Republican.
The last 8 years have profoundly affected me. Seeing gwb's murderous rampage facilitated by his party has made me less than congenial to Repugs. I am NOT sorry for it, and I find no reason to be even respectful of murder facilitators.
So I asked him, "Aren't you embarrassed to be a Republican?"
"No" he said, "and a Republican would never be that rude."
At that point things deteriorated and the details do not matter. However, on further reflection, I now know where I should have taken the opening he gave me.
The next time I get such a response, this is what I am going to say:
"So this is about being civil, about following the rules of being polite? Tell me, please, how polite is it to attack a country that did nothing to provoke our invasion? How polite is is to blow up people's houses, maim tens of thousands of its citizens, create large numbers of orphans, murder hundreds of thousands of them so that we can drive SUV's? There is no polite in war and you are the last person in the world who can accuse someone of being impolite.
You have facilitated murder a hundred thousand times over. You have the blood of every dead Iraqi over the last 5 years on your hands. Don't you dare insinuate that my lack of congeniality to you is somehow a greater offense than the sin you carry on your soul."
It isn't about changing them through congenial conversation. They need to know that we consider them as murders. Let's hope it causes them to start to think about what they've done. Many of them have never even had that thought go through their heads. Someone needs to tell them. I've appointed myself.