I can’t mention any names, nor even dare mention the type of relation, but not everyone in my family shares my insightful progressive liberal Democratic views. In fact, not everyone shares my belief that reasoned opinions should be based on a consensus of basic facts.
But I got a head-start on visiting family this Thanksgiving, as since there wasn’t room for all the family at once, I opted for the pre-Thanksgiving early shift; I came and left long before others arrived. This way I had a bedroom all to myself, even if I didn’t have a turkey dinner.
I love my family, but how does one navigate through treacherous political waters when a family member, you otherwise love and respect, says it is questionable global warming is real and that it was hotter two hundred years ago? How do you respond when someone says Kyle Rittenhouse was completely innocent as he was simply defending himself?
You don’t.
Easier said than done. I did respond. I said I thought it wasn’t true. But my response led to another response. At that time I did the most difficult thing of all. I shut up letting my dear relative have the last word.
I had practice. My father, a loyal Republican, often tried to bait me into a political discussion. Over time, I realized I would never change his mind. Thankfully I never had any relative tell me they supported Trump. For all I know, none of them did. If they did, they were wise enough not to let me know.
When you have a passion for politics and love a good animated political discussion, it is hard to avoid any current political topic. You have to remind yourself of a simple truth: nothing you can say will possibly change their mind. So unless, you are in a discussion because you are open to change your own mind, the less said the better.
After a few days, my daughter came up and thanked me for avoiding political discourse. Keep the peace. Find a diversion. Do not delude yourself that there is anything you can say that will impart needed knowledge or wisdom. Enjoy the turkey, play with the grandchildren, and when all else fails, find a benign diversion.
Thus the explanation for the above triangle. My grandkids had these plastic tiles, including yellow hexagons, green triangles, and blue diamonds. Playing with them, I made the above mosaic. Then I wondered, “How many triangles are there in this pattern?” The answer was harder to discern than I thought. Several times I thought I had the correct answer, only to discover I counted something twice or left out other triangles completely.
After quite a bit deliberation I finally came up with the answer. I know there is one correct answer. I don’t know that it is the answer I got. For now, I shall avoid saying what number I came up with and allow you to solve this geometric puzzle yourself. (Do not include the red frame of trapezoids.)
The last time I submitted a mathematical puzzle (based on probability) I was amazed how many Kos readers responded positively. I was also amazed how many people not only got the wrong answer, but argued extensively they were correct.
So before you get into a political argument with your Republican uncle or conservative mother-in-law, perhaps it is better to try to find a pleasant challenging diversion to keep the peace. For me, it was wondering just how many triangles are there in the above figure.
I can’t wait to find out if like-minded Kos readers can agree on a question that obviously has only one correct answer.