In the past when I thought of Wisconsin, my home and my birthplace, I would think of the Packers, Badger, Brewers and Bucks. Or I would think of the miles and miles of cornfields one would pass on the way to visit my grandparents. Another image that came to mind were the dairy farms that lined our county highways. Images of milk, cheese, beer, cranberries and apples. Talk at the local bar this time of year would revolve around the Brewers chances to win the pennant (who am I kidding, their chances to break .500).
This year, it is far different. Follow me below the fold to find out how.
This past Friday night was the Madison East High all class reunion. Every year, for the past three years, we have gotten together and renew old friendships and start new ones. We relive past glories and shed a tear over classmates whose lives were far to short.
In the past at one of these events politics was never brought up. It was never a subject that was just never needed to be discussed. This year, this year was different. I was talking to an old friend a friend whose twin brother and I had had a falling out over politics. His twin brother was like a brother to me at a different time and place in my life. As we were talking a mutual acquaintance appeared. He said to me, "X says if I see you I am supposed to whack you upside your dumbassed Democrat head." I turned to X's twin brother and said, "You know I love X like a brother...I do not hate him, and I do not understand why he hates me so much. Tell him that when ever he is ready, I will gladly accept him back into my life." That happened within thirty minutes of arriving.
As the evening went on I had people come up to me and thank me for my blog as they now lived out of state and my blog posts were the only thing providing them with news about Madison and Wisconsin. One friend even said I was a future Pulitzer prize winner...not sure I would go that far.
More friends arrived, I talked to a friend on mine who is a nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood. The same clinic where a man had recently planned to, and I quote, "to lay out abortionists because they are killing babies." It was strange because in the past, I would have had no problem discussing her work in public as what she does is quite honorable. However, with the political climate in Wisconsin as it is today we went off to the side of the crowd so that no one could hear us.
Shortly after the conversation with my Nurse Practitioner friend the acquaintance from earlier came up to me and started going off about my defense of Dane County Board Supervisor Melissa Sargent a classmate of both of ours. He went on the attack stating that Justice Prosser would be found not guilty and that Justice Bradley should be the one resigning. I politely told him that I did not want to discuss this issue with him and walked away. Part of the reason I was defending Supervisor Sargent was because of e-mails (that I received via an open records request) like this:
From: Daniel C
Date: June 30, 2011 7:00:21 AM CDT
To:
Subject: Bradley
When Bradley's charge is proved false, will you ask her to step down? Didn't think so. Kiss my American ass you commie slut.
The other reason I was defending her - she was right, Prosser needs to take a leave of absence from the court during the investigation. The right is playing a very dangerous game of blame the victim in this case.
Since the ascension of the Tea Party and Governor Walker's rise to power I have lost a lot of friends. Some of whom I have known since second grade. I have lost them not because my views have changed; but, because their views have moved decidedly to the right and into an alternate reality where facts are "liberal lies."
While I am saddened by the loss of these friendships I do not mourn the losses and I most certainly do not hate any of the people that were once my friends. I wish them all the best in whatever life has to offer them. I have no time in my life for hatred. Life is too short to waste my energy hating anyone. Even though I can no longer call them friends, I still love them, one of them I still love like a brother. In the words of Dr. King,
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Wisconsin, and our nation as a whole, has changed and not for the best; however, we can and will change that. The arrogance of the right will be their undoing. Remember Dr. King's words that I have quoted above...do not hate and we will prevail.
8:38 AM PT: I see in the comments that there is a lot of name-calling. I have become of a mindset that name-calling will get us nowhere. We will never convince those on the right to join us; however, Independents in the middle will join us if we look like the saner side. The name-calling makes us look just as bad as the right.