When the political landscape seems to shift so precipitously that it begins to undermine life-long friendships, how far does one have to go to find peace? When does a reaction to these events go from crazy to absolutely necessary for survival?
It worries me greatly that I’m starting to see people who have been a part of my life for a long time, many of whom I consider good friends, as threats to me, my family, and society in general. Their passive acceptance or outright advocacy of ideas and programs I’ve always known as antithetical to liberty now undermines my respect for them.
I can’t decide if their convictions have changed or if mine have hardened from age. Am I spending too much time in my own echo chamber, I wonder, or do I really need to find a new tribe?
While I’ve always staked out a minority view, I’ve never looked into the future with such pessimism. It’s making me want to withdraw from society and retreat to a community of kindred spirits. I worry that if I uproot my family and take them to New Hampshire based primarily on politics, I could be very sorry down the road. (If only it weren’t so cold).
Sometimes I find myself as discomfited in a room full of people who agree with me as I do in one with those who don’t. I’ve usually found some common ground with most everyone and focused on that.
I’ve learned from experience that most prognostications of doom and gloom or the converse rarely come to pass. It’s usually somewhere in the middle, and it has for the most part evened out.
This time does feel different, but I’m trying to understand if the times really are different or is it just the media — on BOTH sides — that colors my POV. I don’t want to depend upon third parties to tell me what’s going on. I want badly to get out there (as I have in the past) and find out for myself.
I badly want to move away from my current location because of my disgust at the local politics, but who’s to say that I won’t be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, taking my poor family with me? I can’t afford to make that mistake again. It’s paralyzing.