Tired... And a Soulful Night

Last night after work, I went to LL for a reading. It was my first literary reading in the M! I was so excited. I even wore a skirt that had books on it as a pattern! (Nerdy? Hell yeah!)

I met some of the writers who are in the collective that hosts the reading. I talked to them about their writing, asking questions like, "What do you write?" And them telling me about what they love about writing, what they are working on, or how they are in an MFA program. I gushed about my own MFA experience and really emphasized it was a special time.

One writer said she was so happy to have their reading at that space, saying, "It's SO Leftist!" and I nodded in agreement, though not totally sure of the weight of that statement.

In the Bay, I fell into crowds that were very Left, maybe extremely, and I didn't know any other way back then. Many of the crowds I fell into, the writers in them, all had strong Democrat beliefs, which I loved and admired when I heard someone speak of their political values. However, I, myself, having friends in other states who were Republicans, I became more moderate my last year in the Bay, seeing what my friends on the Right had to say and seeing that they had value in what they believed in, though I didn't quite agree.

I never understood the hatred and polarization that happened during Drump's time. I mean, yes, I do understand b/c when Drump first ran for office, I heard about the violence he was inciting at his ralleys and I thought it was so awful. Then when he won the race against Hilary, my heart and soul, just sank. I felt so sad and worried.

I'm still mad about what Drump is doing, and find it so hard to stay moderate. But then I think of people I know and love who are Republicans, their views matter just as my own Leftist views. I can't hate them for solely their political values. Though many of my friends in the Bay would beg to differ. Maybe would simply cut you out if they knew you supported Drump, even if you did so in a closet-ed way.

But I can't hate those people, and simply cut ties with them. And now I live in an area that is much more politically mixed than what I'm used to. I do believe in healthy dialogue and even safe arguments about politics, but I don't believe that hate should be a part of that. I do believe when our two-party system was created, also creating the balance of powers, that it was meant to encourage healthy debate, for the sake of progress and accountability. 

I wish people would remember that and not hate on each other. Why does it have to be that way?