Hestia Homeschool for Young Wild Women

We get a lot of candidates knocking on the door this time of year, and if I am not overly occupied I often talk to them---with the girls chiming in.

Today I spent a lively half hour talking to a rather conservative candidate for judge....I think at the end of the conversation he was a bit shell shocked.  :-)   I look so sweet and not particularly bright, but  I am actually pretty well informed on international issues and I like to talk.

I am sweet, though.

 Really.

With our family being homeschoolers, people tend to assume right away that we are conservative, and we are not at all, for the most part. So it is always interesting to watch candidates try to tell me what they think I want to hear, and then being baffled by some of my  responses.

For example, I told this person (a card carrying member of the NRA) that I am very much in favor of gun control. I have no objection to hunters, it is hand guns I object to. He brought up the old "If only criminals have guns..." blah blah blah....", but was surprised when I gently told him the story of seeing my next door neighbor carried out of his house with most of his head blown off when I was a child. He had found his father's handgun and killed himself by accident. He was eight.

He agreed that would have something to do with my opinion.

I did mention mildly that I am very emotional and that most of my responses to life are based on my emotions. I don't claim to be logical.

We moved on to the war in Iraq, and there we had a very lively conversation, since I am so anti-war. He reminded me that the whole world is not pacifist. He suggested that  innocent wee mite that I am, I am unaware of how violent people can be.

I gently told him about surviving a rape that left me in intensive care for three weeks. I told him that my reaction to violence is not to stoop to the lowest common denominator. It was the only way I could save my own soul. I had to  not be drawn into the thirst for vengence and an eye for an eye.

He again seemed very unsure of how to respond to this. He did mention that he is a devout Christian. I mentioned--again very gently-that Christ lived in an occupied country and that he told us to put down the sword and to be gentle.

He said it is very hard to live by Christian ideals, and I agreed. However, that IS what Christ said.

He also got confused when he said that he felt idealogically that we should not interfere with other countries, but that in the real world it was not possible.

I talked about how difficult it is to live our ideals.

He also reversed himself on illegal aliens. I told him that no white people were invited to the United States, and that on some level we are all immigrants if we are not Native American. Again, he blinked, and he said that is true, but what about paying benefits to illegal aliens?

I said that with over a billion dollars a WEEK going to the war in Iraq, I would much rather make sure an illegal alien's child is getting a good education and medical care in this country than to spend money killing someone else's child.

I pointed out that Osoma bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are NOT the same person. He said that Bush had not handled selling this war to this country well.

I asked him if he would want one of his children dying in Iraq and he said , No. But serving would be their choice.

We also talked about abortion. We were both pro-life, but there he differed. I said being pro-life also means being against capital punishment--if all life is sacred, then human life outside of the womb is sacred, too.

I also let him know that I support gay rights to the fullest.

Still, when I saw that he was becoming upset, I immediately set him at ease by smiling sweetly and telling him that isn't it great that we live in a country where two people could stand on my porch and disagree in freedom about essential issues like this--and still think the other is a good person. He melted. I even gave him a hug.

He said he wanted to come back and talk to me sometime.

He also told me I should run for office. He went on about it for some time. I think I might even get his vote.

ROFL

|  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this

• #8 Comment from sugar1337 
  10/30/06 11:39 PM | Permalink

  I always love good open debates too.  :)
  http://blog.myspace.com/poptartcoco
• #7 Comment from deshelestraci 
  10/29/06 9:48 PM | Permalink

  That poor man!  He didn't know what hit him I'm sure!  I'd vote for you!
  Traci
• #6 Comment from jaimenian 
  10/29/06 3:43 PM | Permalink

  YOU ROCK.
  Hardcore.
  
  For lack of a better word: You're fantastic.
  
  
  ~Jaime
  
  www.chasenkids.org
• #5 Comment from juliapadg 
  10/28/06 3:16 PM | Permalink

  LOL, that's great!
• #4 Comment from suzypwr 
  10/28/06 12:29 PM | Permalink

  You really put him to the test!
  
  xoxo