Dear Loved One,
I don’t want to talk politics with you. I told you over and over again I don’t want to. Yet we always end up bringing it up somehow. Some Democrat made a comment you didn’t agree with, or states are changing laws about guns, or even, somehow, Covid 19 (coronavirus) manages to be the fault of the Democrats. It’s not that I don’t want to have a discussion with you, or even a challenging conversation. I don’t want to talk politics with you because it hurts.
It hurts to talk politics with you. It hurts because every time we discuss it, you show me just how much you don’t care. That isn’t your intention of course, and honestly at the end of every conversation we always say “I love you” and to you it is water under the bridge. But your words and your actions cut deeper than water.
I talk about things like Universal Healthcare, because I had to pay $14,000 to keep my baby alive last year. This year alone I have had to pay another $4,000 and if we go to the hospital again, our insurance is different and we will have to meet a whole new deductible all over again. I tell you how scary it is for me, and you tell me that Universal Healthcare would never work. You tell me that the wealthy in this country would never go for it. Without saying it directly, you tell me that some billionaires $4 billion (out of $20 billion) is more important to you than my $4,000. You will defend their wealth before you defend mine. You are telling me that you care more about them keeping their status quo and their money than you care about me keeping my house. You are telling me that you care more about their daily happiness and contentment than you care about my baby’s life.
You ask me why I boycott certain stores, such as McDonald’s (Trump supporter), Hobby Lobby (anti women’s rights), and Chick-fil-a (anti gay right’s). You tell me I’m over reacting and that not everyone has to believe what I believe. You are telling me that you believe these multi-million dollar companies deserve my $20, despite that they hate the very person that I am. You are telling me that my beliefs are wrong, that women don’t matter, that gays don’t deserve rights, and that an ablest, sexist, racist individual is someone you can resonate with more than you can with me. You are telling me I don’t matter, because whether you like it or not, it is personal. It has always been personal.
You mock Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her belief systems. You scoff at her efforts to bring awareness around corruption and the environment. She is a blue and white collar worker, just like you are. Just like I am. You think she is “a fucking idiot”. But then you confuse me, as you defend Donald Trump with an equal passion. I’ve never seen him demonstrate the slightest bit of care for people like you and me. He mocks me, on many occasions, just because I’m a woman. He mocks the disabled, again on many occasions. He runs his mouth and no one has to try to make fun of him because his Twitter feed is so active with racist, hateful, and outright stupid (I’m sorry, but “The Hurricane is Wet from the Standpoint of Water” is not exactly smart) comments that he fairly makes fun of himself. Trump defends the wealthy, continues to grow his own wealth, and has no qualms about taking wealth from us. Yet he is worth defending for you. Neither of us could ever understand his life, but you care more about his than mine.
I’m not asking you to change your beliefs or vote for someone you don’t believe in. I don’t think anything I have to say will ever change your mind. Let’s face it, your mind is already made up. You’ve already decided who and what is right, what is possible, and where your loyalties lie. Nothing I say has or will change that. But I still need you to know. I need you to hear me. I need you to be aware that at the end of the day, your words, your actions, and your beliefs really do hurt. I need you to see that you are telling me again and again and again that you care about a bunch of rich, white people more than you care about me. I’m not asking you to agree with me, and you probably never will. But I want you to know, so when I say I don’t want to talk about politics, it’s because there is only so much hurt a person can take.
Yours Always,
Me
