Many's the time I've pissed off someone over politics. When it comes to that I'm an equal opportunist. To the Left I'm a Closet NeoCon, to the Right I'm a Libtard Moonbat.
They say that you must pick a side, Left or Right, because if you walk in the Middle of the Road you're bound to get hit.
Plenty of times I've suffered road rash, or had to pick flecks of bumper paint out of my skin. I think I still have a tire tread across my butt from the 90s.
At this point I'm usually good about inching just enough out of the way that a passing car misses me by millimeters.
Nonetheless I still get the occasional threat shouted at me as the car speeds away. I'll be given the bird, or have an empty beer can tossed at my head.
The Left wants to disown me when I mention being Pro-Life. They're not placated when I elaborate that I believe laws against abortion are counter-productive, and that it'd be less of an issue if the root causes leading to it were addressed and dealt with by society. It doesn't matter that I think pot should be legalized, Muslims aren't inherently evil, gay people should marry and raise kids, workers should have an easier time being made legal, people shouldn't die for lack of ability to pay for healthcare, etc.
No, I dare respect the sanctity of life - I do it without hypocritically singing the praises of Capital Punishment, The War for Oil, or wishing someone remove the homeless and put them out of sight out of mind. I do it without considering knocked up teenagers sluts. I do it without demanding a CSI investigation for every single period and miscarriage.
Something I've learned about the Left from swimming with them - these sharks will turn on each other in the blink of an eye.
The Right's no better. It doesn't matter that I'm with them on the Pro-Life Bandwagon. It doesn't matter that I don't think guns should be outlawed. It doesn't matter that I like soldiers and cops (when they're not acting above the law) and that I don't consider bruising from being handcuffed to constitute police abuse. It doesn't matter that I consider Jesus to be the Son of God who offered me Salvation. It doesn't matter that I think Government interfere's too much where it's not needed (smoking bans) and not enough where it is. It doesn't matter that criminals should be penalized in a manner that fits their crime.
It doesn't matter because I'm all for a person's right to be intimate with someone of either sex. It doesn't matter because I think Palestinians are human beings who are being slaughtered with America's blessing. It doesn't matter because I don't want my wife to die for lack of insurance or money. It doesn't matter because I think there needs to be a moratoriam on the death penalty and that it should be a consistent Federal, not State, issue. It doesn't matter because I think it's hypocritical to force the Pledge of Allegiance on children. It doesn't matter because I don't believe that Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, even Atheists aren't automatically going to hell just because they haven't accepted Christ.
As far as the Left's concerned I hate women, even though I've worked for them without gender-based issue.
As far as the Right's concerned I hate America, even though I publicly expressed my disgust at the people blocking the Ports of Olympia and Tacoma, and even though I've had plenty of blood-thirsty moments silently cheering footage of soldiers blowing things up.
When it comes down to it I can handle being challenged on a belief. I can take the ribbing, more or less, because I like to dig at people a little bit too and I take it in the interest of fair play. I also enjoy a healthy debate - when both sides stick to the subject without straying into ad hominem attacks (not always easy, and something I don't always succeed at.)
But when I'm given a blanket derision over my "politics" I wonder if the person really knows what exactly they're denigrating.
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