The Scrutinator

Like many families, ours has a political divide. During Christmas dinner, conversation turned briefly to politics and my blog. My brother showed my cousin my blog on his PDA.

My cousin asked: "So why do you blog?"

Me (after some thought): "How do you decide who to vote for?"

One facetious answer. Otherwise silence.

My cousin: "That [question] is your answer?"

"That's the beginning of the discussion."

I'd like to write more about why I blog, and I'd like this blog to be about much more than politics. It's on my list of things to do.

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The question: How do you decide who to vote for?

My brother's facetious answer: "Whoever minimizes my taxes, leaving me the most money."

Is there a more serious answer here? Caricatures of the other side? Our arch-conservative mother reinforces some, but her views are more fringe than representative. And attacking a caricature is the classic straw-man fallacy.

I want to be careful here: a lot of comedy is caricature, and I enjoy it too. (The Simpsons, South Park, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report.) But I want to keep in mind that Amos & Andy was a caricature, too.

*******

My brother: "Doesn't it bother you that you live in a blue state?" Me: "Yes! That's part of why I blog, too."

A few other random remarks from my cousin:

• "It seems like politics is about getting riled about something new all the time. What about the last thing everyone got riled about?" [Good point. Follow-through is one thing the blogs are good at.]
• "Isn't politics just for people with nothing better to do?" Me: "Yep. Exactly. Just politics, no more no less."
• Glancing at my blog, "Your blog seems angry."

Angry? Hopefully not often. Deliberately provocative I hope. Sometimes confrontational, yes.

I appreciate the feedback.

Despite our differences, it was great hanging out with family!

By The Scrutinator @ 9:00 PM