I try to avoid discussing politics in public, mostly because nothing comes of it, but in big part because there are certain issues that are of such profound personal importance to me that it would be difficult for me to keep calm about them. To some people gay marriage and adoption may be a political issue or a topic of intellectual discussion that doesn't really affect them--those issues don't affect many people--but they have such a significant impact on my everyday life that I cannot remain detached emotionally.
So I avoid discussing them outside of my family and a small handful of friends. If someone tries evangelizing to me about their pet political issue, I tend to deflect or ignore, or make neutral acknowledgment statements.
Sports bore me, so that's not a problem, and one of the core tenets of my religion is an acceptance of other faiths, so that's never a problem unless someone tries to convert me.
What happened there was rude, I agree. It's a shame some people are so eager to share their beliefs with others that they don't stop to think about whether they're imposing unreasonably on others.
Gilda
|