The Weird Kid
Monday, October 27, 2008
before Nov. 4th
Sean and I voted together on our mail-in ballots, sitting at our table. I sat. Sean walked back and forth in his boxers, eating candy corn and translating the ballot measures. He has a political science degree.
Before we opened our ballots, I was nervous and defensive.
I said, "I can't do this with you if you're going to get judgmental and angry. If you get frustrated because I don't understand something like you do, or I have a different thought, I don't want to do this."
Politics make him angry. Almost nothing else does. Other people's politics, make him angry.
He was cheerful throughout the hour-long process. I voted same as him on every ballot, even the ones I had initially thought different on. He made good strong points, stronger than mine.
But I voted for president when his attention was elsewhere.
I moved from my seat and he picked up my ballot. He saw then , he saw that I'd thrown my vote away. He'd asked me not to, for a week. I didn't vote for McCain. I voted Libertarian. To him, it was the same as a vote for Obama, for the Marxist, for the long bleeding death of our country.
Tension, real tension, grew over all his muscles. No ease, and no playfulness left in him. He walked away from me. He looked out the window. He looked back at me with...something disgusted. I said, "I told you before I don't want to have to defend myself and feel crappy with my own husband."
He choked back the betrayal I think he felt, the astonishment at my...poor judgment? Selfishness? Idiocy? We changed the subject.
I don't understand, why this?
Go vote. And vote privately.
Before we opened our ballots, I was nervous and defensive.
I said, "I can't do this with you if you're going to get judgmental and angry. If you get frustrated because I don't understand something like you do, or I have a different thought, I don't want to do this."
Politics make him angry. Almost nothing else does. Other people's politics, make him angry.
He was cheerful throughout the hour-long process. I voted same as him on every ballot, even the ones I had initially thought different on. He made good strong points, stronger than mine.
But I voted for president when his attention was elsewhere.
I moved from my seat and he picked up my ballot. He saw then , he saw that I'd thrown my vote away. He'd asked me not to, for a week. I didn't vote for McCain. I voted Libertarian. To him, it was the same as a vote for Obama, for the Marxist, for the long bleeding death of our country.
Tension, real tension, grew over all his muscles. No ease, and no playfulness left in him. He walked away from me. He looked out the window. He looked back at me with...something disgusted. I said, "I told you before I don't want to have to defend myself and feel crappy with my own husband."
He choked back the betrayal I think he felt, the astonishment at my...poor judgment? Selfishness? Idiocy? We changed the subject.
I don't understand, why this?
Go vote. And vote privately.
posted by Imez at 10:18 PM
6 Comments:
I cannot even tell you how sad this makes me feel..
politics scare me. i try to stay away from them. some people call it un-american. i think of it more as a good interpersonal preservation tactic.
I don't agree with Paul or much of his platform, but I fully respect your right to make your own informed decision.
I'm beyond frustrated by the extremists during this election cycle - those that believe the worst possible catastrophes will befall our country if A or B candidate is elected. As Tom Brokaw said the other night on Charlie Rose, our country is like one big exposed nerve. There's not a lot of rational thought right now, and I'm sorry your marriage is caught in that snarl.
Voting for who you want to vote for is not throwing your vote away. And please, Obama as Marxist? There are plenty of other more accurate adjectives he could use to insult him. You vote for Ozzy Osborne if you want to. It's your right. Perhaps he should remember that he is not the boss of you. Or your vote.
Politics are the devil.... :)
i was just talking about this with some friends yesterday, about how couples can have differing political views. i can understand how one person might feel more strongly about certain issues than others, but if your overall point of view is different, how does your relationship survive that? i'm sorry. and i'm still curious how your navigate your differences, even when it's not election day.
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