Dear Dad

My Dad’s opinions about current politics bother me. Some of it is because his opinions are different than mine, but also because they seem to lack any analysis of the current political trends. My Dad doesn’t criticize the current administration as he did the last one. He couldn’t stop admonishing Clinton for lying, but he’s mute on Bush’s many lies or Rumsfeld’s duplicity. Assgrafts, assaults on the constitution, Halliburton, Enron, Bechtel, amicus briefs filed by Bush against the expansion of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA).

SUVs are the bane of our existence. They create an imbalance between the have and have nots. They are the clearest demonstration of America’s financial and environmental irresponsibility.

We cling to California despite the fires, mudslides, earthquakes, and politics for the weather, the stars, and the industry and because whence we’ve come offer so little in comparison.

All of these things are swept under the rug of fear.

My Dad also studies and references the civil war constantly, but can’t see how were’ sewing the seeds for one right now. Can he really be happy giving $90K tax breaks to the rich?

I grew up seeking my Dad's advice and thoughts on all matters. Even when I disagreed, I always respected his opinion. When people complained that people who voted for Nadar cost Gore the election, he said that those people had a right to vote for whomever they wanted. It angered me. He was right.

However, over the last couple of years, his views have become increasingly right-wing and by extension so have my Mom's. While arguing about the Iraq war last Christmas, he blurted out, "I'm sorry that you don't have any use for this country" and walked off to bed.

I try to prod gently, but he categorically cannot comprehend what he sees because what he hears is blinding him.