School and politics

School: So far, so good. I'm doing very well in my first class (at least after the first three assignments) and no longer have any concerns about taking a class that's online. In fact, it works great for me for two reasons: I tend to express myself best in writing, so I'm better at class discussions using a discussion board than raising my hand in a classroom; and it's a more realistic way to learn these days, at least in my field. 90% of the work I do in my day job is with teams of people who are hundreds of miles away. Our communication is mostly through email, chat and teleconference -- rarely in person. Getting together for live group meetings doesn't happen anymore.

Switching subjects: politics. I love election season and watch the pundit shows like a true junkie getting my fix. But I've never been one to talk about my choices in public. I am well-versed on the issues, but tend to keep my true views to close to the vest, sharing them only with Brad (whom I don't always agree with, but we completely respect the right to cancel out each other's votes). Over the past few weeks, however, I've gotten into inadvertent political discussions with family members, friends and coworkers, and I hate myself for it. The discussions inadvertently end in "you're preaching to the choir" or "wow, I never knew you were such an idiot." There's no way that talking politics with anyone is going to change my mind or theirs, so I'd rather just avoid some potentially uncomfortable moments and not breach the subject at all.

I consider myself a true independent voter. In college I was so far to the left that I was basically a communist, but after six years of real-world experience, I've come to realize that things are never black and white. I haven't voted a straight ticket since 2000 in any election, national or local, because I tend to vote for candidates on the issues that are most important to the Alison party. Sometimes the Alison party sides with Democrats, sometimes with Republicans, sometimes with neither.

I know there are some people out there who love to argue about politics, and that's fine. I love to ride my bike, knit scarves and blog, and not everyone agrees with those things, either. But when a peaceful lunch with an immediate family member of mine turns into an out-and-out argument over the virtues of the McCain-Palin ticker, I start to wish that it was mid-November already, damn it.

OK...time to go watch Meet the Press.