Politics Coloring Perception

In case you are wondering, this little 'rainbow gun' is the Sig Sauer P238.

This past weekend my wife and I were able to spend some time with her sister and her wife. It was actually the first time that I had ever spent time with the two of them and, not surprisingly, we had a few moments of sharing thoughts. While many will see the two completely different lifestyles and the polar party affiliations there weren’t any times of severe disagreement. While this may be surprising to some it really shouldn’t be if you take into consideration the fact that we are all human with different perspectives but the same desires.

In fact, there was one moment in particular which seemed to make the two of them step back for a second. My sister-in-law made a comment which was something to the effect of ‘we would more back but we would have to worry about being accepted as a married couple.’ Of course, I am paraphrasing but the general sentiment is pretty clear.

What had the two of them a bit speechless was when I told them that, frankly, I could care less. I am not going to tell you what you can or can’t do, who you can marry, etc. At the same time, don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. As has been a common phrase that I have read and heard over and over (I am certain that many of you are reading this for the first time)… you don’t want me in your bedroom and I don’t want you in my gun room. It is that simple. My political beliefs are anchored in personal freedom, responsibility, self-reliance, and independence. Who am I to tell you who you can be with, who you can love?

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the vast majority of people I know with the same affiliation with the Republican Party feel the same way. In fact, I personally know more Democrats opposed to such unions. With that said, we are not going to lobby for your ability to marry but we will not stand in your way either. It is this fact that may have made them think the most (of course, I am basing this on observation as they did not disclose their thought process to me).

However, this whole situation just goes to show that too many of us fail to communicate. We make assumptions of each other based on politics without ever discussing the issues. Because of this, we lose sight of the things that we have in common and interests that we share (firearms in this particular instance). Of course, there will be differences but when you think about it as individuals we have differences with everyone it is just a matter of degrees. Most things that really get people going, that are the basis of personal passion, don’t fall along political lines. Those differences lie within the individual.