The other night I had a long involved dream about a girlfriend of mine from high school that motivated me to send her a message on Facebook saying hi, giving some chatty family news, and asking how she and her family were. She lives out east and we haven't seen each other for at least 30 years. She moved to my little town during high school from New Jersey and we became instant friends, probably due to our each taking high school French. She was always different than those of us from the little town, probably because her roots were in the east rather than the boring-blue collar-patriotic-middle American town that I grew up in. I always appreciated how hard it must have been to blend into our tightly knit school group-that she must have felt she'd landed on another planet. She went on to attend the U of I and move in with the young man who eventually became her husband. I went to another state school. My friend was always much more avant-garde than me--the shacking up thing bothered me but it was her life and none of my business. She only married when they had kids but never changed her last name--again, just not my kind of decision, but her life. She and her eventual husband moved back east to the bastion of liberalism known as Massachusetts--I'm sure she felt more at ease there and it more easily reflected her political and social views. I always though she was one of those people who's so far to the left that her car doesn't turn right (yes, pun intended).
Of course she has a right to her opinions as I do to mine but I'm not sure she thinks I have any valid opinions. I just don't think our high school friendship has survived adulthood. I just don't think there's a place in my heart for her anymore. She has shown herself to be the classic liberal. When a conservative goes to them with an open hand in friendship they respond with a clenched fist. They may disagree, but they have to call you hateful or be angry about your policy disagreements. By the way, my friend who is a pacifist and belongs to some "universalist" church (pardon me, but I just think that kind of church just refuses to pick a side--oh well, another disagreement), but she is the one who after high school worked in a factory that made bombs for the defense department. Her husband works for an "evil" insurance company. She is the typical liberal hypocrite who looks down at their nose at anyone who doesn't share their political views but lives their lives like anyone just trying to be successful in this wonderful capitalist country.
Her message back to my chatty "how ya doing" message was distressing and I've had to take a couple days to tamper down my anger and disappointment. She said she had trouble "processing" the "politically charged comments (I) posted on facebook around the time of the health care debate" and that my comments lacked "good taste and a sense of respect with people with whom (I) disagree(d)..." Ah yes, the liberal reveals herself with a dismissive comment when I just thought I'd say hello. Yep, typical liberal.
She knows nothing really about me. Here's a flash for my dismissive liberal friend:
I'm a nice person who anguishes over cruel comments people make. I'm a good Roman Catholic who contributes to my church, goes to mass regularly, and has raised my off-spring to be a good Catholic moral person. I adopt dogs and contribute to a number of animal rescue organizations. I volunteer my time to groups that need help. I vote, I obey the law, pay my taxes, save my money, pray regularly and love my family. I believe deeply in the US Constitution. I have a husband who loves me and 33 years later still calls me a couple times a day from work just to say hi and share whatever news there is. My offspring still texts me regularly and when there's a chance chats incessantly about little stuff that makes us both laugh. My friends enjoy chats, lunch, and whatever time we can spend together. People respect my opinion, my political work, and whatever help I can extend when they need a hand. I'm nice and have a good personality (they used to say that about the ugly girl you tried to introduce to your friend, but take my word when I say I'm not ugly--I'm known to look pretty good and definitely younger than my age--must be the good genes!). I am not quick with forgiveness but try every day to be a better person who truly lives the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm interesting and yet boring. Really.
I cherish my years in public service but almost 20 years in education dealing with snotty liberals like my friend makes me realize how happy I am to be separated from them--away from their myopic hateful attitudes and the angry way they live. They disguise themselves as caring compassionate people but expect the rest of us to pay their way because it's their right to be taken care of. Nope, I'm happy to be away from that. Yes old friend--I know your kind because I worked with them for a long time. It was horribly difficult to be in an academic setting with them because they openly campaigned to make the students just like them--they betrayed the educational philosophy they espoused by promoting their social and political agendas. I was open about being a conservative but every day worked to be non-partisan and even handed in my academic life. I was openly patriotic and followed the law forbidding political partisanship while the liberal academics around me didn't. It was a struggle.
Ok, maybe I'm overreacting. That's always a possibility but I don't think so. I'm saddened by my old friend's comments and have come to the conclusion that something I read a while ago is true--when people are destructively negative, when it causes you unnecessary distress you need to cut them out of your life. Maybe my old friend doesn't understand that in Facebook if something bothers you it is possible to "hide" those posts or "de-friend" someone. So I'm going to de-friend her. Sorry buddy--you're gone. I will pray for you, your 90 year old mother, and the rest of your family. Really. I just don't need hypocritical cruel people in my life--maybe she'll get that but she probably won't. She'll think I'm just another evil conservative that is too thin-skinned and can't deal with her version of "truth" (the rest of us know it as LIES) she and her liberal buddies throw at us people. I am a Republican who believes in the ultimate goodness in us all but understands that some people would rather see evil in us. Their sad ideology clouds their vision. I just don't want to deal with that overwhelming sense of sadness that my old friend dumps on me. So goodbye old friend. I wish you well and I'll pray for you, but I don't think you're really a friend anymore. Sometimes the past is just not enough.
