On the Dark Side

I'm starting NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), where you post a blog entry every day for the month of November. I'm already off the mark as I begin, since it is technically the morning of November 2, and no longer November 1, even though it FEELS like it's still Saturday night. But I'll try to post twice today to make up for it. Cuz it's still Saturday night, dammit. Anyway, let the crazy posting begin! On to today's post.

With 3ish days left until we know who our next president is, I can't help but be exhausted with all this election stuff lately. Enough already! Just swear someone in! I hate all the back and forth name-calling and pundit ranting and repetitive campaigning, and though I admit it's rather compelling to watch, I get a sick feeling whenever I hear anyone say something about McCain or Obama lately. Like when you eat too much candy and you can't stop, but you also feel decidedly ill.

So, speaking of candy, yesterday (meaning Friday) was Halloween, and the thing I feared the most during this election season happened - my dad called to talk politics. I was in the checkout lane of Target, paying for last minute Halloween candy, when he called. "Are you voting?" he asked. "Who are you voting for?"

I swore to myself I wouldn't tell people who I'm voting for, because it's a really sensitive subject for most people. They want to hear that you're voting for the person they're voting for, so they can bond with you about what idiots "those other guys" are. But when talking to my father, distracted by crossing a crowded Target parking lot, filled with a sense of pride and defiance in my right as an adult to vote for anyone I damn well please, I answered truthfully. "Obama," I said, after a moment's hesitation. Boy, am I an idiot.

Thus began a full-fledged lecture from my highly conservative father. It had all the Conservative Propaganda Greatest Hits: Obama is friends with domestic terrorist Ayers, raising taxes for the well-off is the beginning of a socialist/communist America, Obama is inexperienced, McCain is a well-seasoned POW who fought for his country... I sat in the Target parking lot, listening to him rant for nearly 40 minutes. 40 minutes! And there was poor Sam, sitting beside me in our car, munching on some of the Halloween candy we just bought because we were hungry, and on our way home to make dinner. And I tried to get him off the phone. I really did. "I'll look it up when I get home, Dad. But I should really go, so I can start dinner." I said stuff like this at least 5 times during our conversation. "I might do more research when I get home. But I should really go." And every time! My dad said, "Okay, but one more thing!" There wasn't just one more thing. No, not one. Or maybe one more thing, and then another thing after that, and after that. Until you have 10 one-more-things.

Talking with my dad, especially about politics, is a very slippery slope. My dad, as one could guess, is very passionate about politics. And not just during election time either. During any given day in any given year, my dad watches Fox News for at least an hour or so, and listens to conservative talk radio in the car. He's probably also looking up stuff on the internet. It's nuts. I had somehow gotten this far without getting into a serious discussion about the election with him. And that's usually my rule of thumb for dealing with my dad and politics. But when I do get roped into a political conversation, I try to just hear him out without disagreeing too much. Because a rant is still SO much better than a heated political argument. And I'm willing to bet that if I told my dad, "What you're saying isn't true. You're wrong," I would have been in the car at Target for either much longer, or as long as I could stand before I hung up on him. The best idea is just to be as vague as possible so he thinks he's starting to convince you. My will to defiantly assert myself to my father gave way to the intense desire to simply GET OFF THE PHONE. For the love of God.

And to my dad, I'm still a kid. An impressionable youth who can be seduced by the cool Democrats and the liberal media. Never mind the fact that I've been independently minded person since I was small. Never mind that I've never been one to follow the crowd blindly. Forget all the deliberation I've gone through over this stupid election. I'm just a child, easily swayed by liberal professors and political friends. I mean, I could tell him what I really think, and tell him just how my political views are neither strictly Democrat or strictly Republican. But that conversation just sounds so intensely annoying that I could never bring myself to tell my dad what I really think.

So, as far as my dad is concerned, I'm on my way to the Dark Side. And he's the only one who can save me. But who, pray tell, will save me from him? Really, who?

I'll try not to talk to him until at least next weekend. Unless McCain wins. Then it might be safe. Maybe.