Before Thanksgiving, my sister made me a bet. She told me that we could expect five minutes of peace before politics popped up in conversation; I said we should consider ourselves lucky if this were the case. She was pretty close in her assumption-- we went about three minutes without hearing anything about U.S. government.
I understand that the majority of my family shares the same political opinions and that I am an “outlier” of sorts. I did my time during the election, enduring several lectures about wasting my vote and not following family values. Silly me, thinking that this talk would end after the election! I figured since it’s all over now and the rest of them agree with each other, we could move on and find something new from the bounty of topics the world has to offer.
Well, the political talk did not end-- if anything, it has gotten worse. I went into sensory-overload at our dinner table! We have moved past, “Why can’t people see [candidate’s] genius?” and, “What do you MEAN you wasted your vote on [another candidate]?” While it is a relief that we have moved on, the talking points we moved on to are far worse and more insulting. I was a captive audience, forced to sit and listen to an individual’s ideology that I find insulting and immoral. I was the butt of everyone’s stupid jokes; that was fun.
Don’t get me wrong, please. I adore the people in my life, especially my family. I just thought that when the election was over, we would be able to pick up where we left off before it started over a year ago. I miss cracking jokes that didn’t offend those I care about. I miss not resenting hanging out with certain people because I know that our differing opinions lead to fights. Most of all, I miss talking about anything that does not involve Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all of the people associated with them.
There is so much more to talk about and focus on. Christmas is right around the corner, which is my favorite thing to talk about! And, I mean, Hannah Montana is coming back to Disney Channel next month-- pretty cool! And, not to mention, there is a constant outpouring of actual news that keeps on coming-- the world did not stop spinning when this election ended. In my humble opinion, it is high time that we come to terms and press forward. Please, oh please, let’s find something other than two people to talk about from now on!
