A friend of mine, a middle-of-the-pack conservative, and I were invited on a destination fishing trip by another friend. Once on the plane we met the other two participants, both dyed-in-the-wool progressives. It was a great trip with time to discuss a lot of things except politics, drink a beer or two, and harvest some seafood for our families. When the conversation did slip into politics, the parties were civil and there was even some listening. This year my friend couldn’t make the trip, and the two longtime partners chose to go alone rather than invite the more conservative new member, even when it increased their personal expense by thousands of dollars.
In a few days. Carmen and I are off to a writers’ conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Preparation for the conference has been exceptional, with warm hospitality from the Canadians toward our American writer and reader friends who will be attending. This, at a time when our two governments have some serious disagreements. Ordinary citizens, brought together by a common love of books and reading, are ignoring the “political” differences.
Surely, in the United States we are capable of realizing common loves and beliefs that will allow us to simply talk to one another again. One fishing trip isn’t a big deal, but our inability to set aside our political beliefs long enough to enjoy the companionship of others is sad. How can it be that our relationships with people across town are so threatening that we can’t find the same camaraderie that Canadian and American writers and readers can find?
Perhaps most importantly, how will we bridge our differences if we refuse to associate with others who hold “some” different beliefs?