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May 4, 2004
Friends
don’t need to fight when politics are involved
Kimberly
Hosey
Copy Editor
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I’m conservative on many issues, I’m Christian, I love David
Bowie and I’d live in a secluded beach house if I could.
One of my best friends is rooting for John Kerry, is of the Bahá’í
religion, wears the bleeding-heart liberal label like a badge, is obsessed
with the Beatles and loves her cramped apartment in Manhattan.
The idea of supporting even part of Bush’s foreign policy is as
loathsome to her as supporting Kerry’s view on abortion is to me
– and fortunately for both of us, no one would think either of us
support the other’s opinions. We are perfectly free to be friends
with each other without being seen as “endorsing” each other’s
views.
That’s because we’re not politicians.
I also have many friends who share my political views. Does that mean
we meet regularly to fight the war on drugs or criticize Kerry’s
stance on the war? Of course not.
For a nation built on the idea of freedom of expression and democratic
dialogue, Americans have some funny ideas about discourse and differing
opinions – namely, that politicians must endorse a predefined view.
Any fraternizing with the opposition is seen as a weakness, or worse,
a sign that the politician has some wicked underlying philosophy or plan
- and if two government officials get together who have similar views
on a given issue happen to get together, they must be plotting a hostile
takeover of the opposition.
The result in both cases is the same: politicians can’t have friends,
at least not any we know about. Vice President Dick Cheney and Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia were criticized recently for their friendship
– they went duck hunting, which obviously was a paper-thin cover
to plot a right-wing takeover. Likewise, Sen. John McCain was condemned
by many for supporting longtime friend John Kerry – even though
he laughed off rumors of a running-mate position and asserted he didn’t
actually support Kerry for president.
Politicians, like the rest of us, often choose friends based on camaraderie,
proximity and – gasp! – similarity in interest or opinion,
or even engaging conversation with someone different.
Perhaps more significant is the importance of dialogue in politics. Government
officials, like anyone else, need both the forum of agreement and contact
with dissenters to hone and clarify the opinions they use to shape the
policies that run our lives and country.
The polarization of much of American politics has caused an uncomfortable
situation in which many politicians have hidden agendas, but all are accused
of it. Instead of embracing fellow participants in a cooperative democracy,
many Americans have taken to placing everyone in the camps of “friend”
and “enemy.”
Does it matter if Cheney tried to keep the public from knowing who met
with him behind closed doors three years ago to draft the administration’s
energy policy? Yes.
Does it matter whether Kerry is dishonest or duplicitous regarding his
opinions about wars? Sure.
But – does it matter if Scalia and Cheney went duck hunting (or
for that matter, antique shopping, skinny dipping or anything else) together?
Does it matter if McCain and Kerry had lunch together last month? Probably
not.
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