Bumped into a high school friend for the first time in 30 years.

[markodochartaigh]

30. I think that that is a part of the problem.

In the US we used to not talk about politics or religion. We didn't openly talk about how great it was that our grandparents had Social Security thanks to FDR, or Medicare thanks to the Democratic party in the sixties. We didn't talk about how both of those had been opposed by Republicans. We didn't talk about how courageous MLK and Bobby Kennedy were for standing up to forces far stronger than them. But the Republicans kept talking, on the radio, on TV, and now their talking points are said out loud by people on the street. Of course, because we never talked about our politics before, those who are now reich-wing don't know what our politics are. When people don't talk about something they usually assume that people who look like them and live close to them think the same as them. I think that not openly discussing issues, and politics, breeds ignorance and apathy. And ignorance and apathy are the Achilles' heels of democracy.