I visited my brother in Kentucky earlier this week after our brother in Ohio went off the deep end for the umpteen millionth time. This was the most severe because OH bro did to KY bro what OH bro did to me a long time ago--severed ties with him because of his political views.
You see, KY bro and I are lilberals, and OH bro is a fire-breathing "Christian" conservative. OH bro can not get us to come around to his views, even though we hadn't hit him over the head with our views. However, when we got into a discussion, because we would not bend to his views, he would get irate and sputter in frustration. Now, it's gotten to a point where he has cut off all ties with us. I can't say I miss him, but KY bro was a thorn in our sides throughout our lives. I am the oldest, and KY bro is the youngest. OH bro was a wild one in high school, while KY bro and I were studious. We went to college, while OH bro stayed home and kept getting drunk and high.
Now we are being told by OH bro about how we should think and live. I have tried to overlook his views and enjoy the moments we had when we were young, but the longer I reflected on our childhood, the more I realized that it was not as happy with him as I thought it was. Am I revising our history because of his views, because of his rejection of us? No, I think it has allowed me to be more objective about what happened when we were younger--his violent outbursts, his wild over-reactions, his inability to follow family rules, etc.
I have come to the conclusion that the split in the family occurred a long time ago. Unfortunately, the events occurring today did not cause it; rather, they accentuated our differences. The wars erupting all across our country in families have been brewing a long time, but I suspect that they are not the cause of the rifts--they are a symptom of the rifts. I'm not saying my family is typical, but I'd sure like to hear what is going on in other families that are having these problems because I suspect we are not that different.