Political Animals

     Everyone knows that politics are not polite dinner conversation. However, when you're dining with politicians, you don't have a choice.

     One evening, about a year and half ago, I was having dinner with my then boyfriend and some of his associates when the chatter turned to politics, as it always did. I was raised that you never talked about politics, religion, or war at dinner. This never seemed to stop this bunch of colleagues. Usually, this was the fault of Lyle, who some of you may remember from my very first blog post. He was a local politician who was even a state representative. One of my sorority sisters said that he barely came to church and when he did it was only to campaign. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I have met few other people more self absorbed than he. A sponge could take a lesson.

    Lyle began to rail against the local and state branches of the political party he so fervently was part of. He was what my then boyfriend would call a "party boy". This meant that he did what ever he was told by the political party that he represented. He would follow blindly in exchange for various rewards. When he didn't receive the things that he was promised, he back peddled and crabbed to anyone who would listen to him. At this same dinner he complained about the direction that his party was taking. Everything he said was contradictory of the platform that got him elected. He even made it a point to say that the jobs in the public sector made more than the private sector. As hard as he was backing up, he should have been beeping. During these dinners I usually listened quietly. I found the dialogue both inelegant and fascinating. It amazes me how classless some "important" citizens can be.

     You could see some of the eyes of the other diners glaze over. James, who you may also remember from my first entry, argued a few of his points and called him out for his contradictory statements. Lyle claimed that he had suddenly become "aware". I find this interesting since his "awareness" hadn't occurred until he lost in the last election that he'd ran in.

    Politicians are basically the same breed of mammal regardless of party affiliations. Politics have a place and it isn't at the dinner table. If you encounter politics during a meal, listen and take only the useful bits. Discard the rest.