Should I open this letter?(politically related)

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m putting this OP in Elections because is concerns, marginally, how I vote. If it’s better suited to another forum, I have no problem with it being moved.

I’ve received a letter from my aunt, who lives in another state. She’s heavily involved in Republican politics, and has been on the political team of a former Presidential hopeful. The envelope has a little red, white and blue elephant above the return address. I’m assuming this letter is some sort of response to a letter-to-the-editor I wrote to our local paper in my own city. that appeared last week. Actually, when I sent it in I wondered if my aunt would see it but figured, “Nah, she probably doesn’t read our paper anymore.” The following is my letter:

*In an odd sort of way, I suppose Kris Kobach and others on the State Objections Board deserve my thanks. Because of their actions questioning President Obama’s right to be on the Kansas ballot, I have finally decided to get off of my duff and into some political party that is not Republican.

Many years ago, when I was old enough to vote, I signed on to the Republican Party. I didn’t think about it much then and I have never voted a straight party line, preferring to vote for the candidate I thought best suited to office. Sometimes it was one party, sometimes the other. Heck, in 1992 I voted for H. Ross Perot, the third-party candidate.

The growing tea party influence in my registered party had disturbed me, but not enough to do anything about it. Perhaps just a bit of apathy has been settling in. But when I see that important figures from the party I’m registered with are aligning themselves, or trying to make points, with the “birthers” I am truly shocked and disgusted.

Birthers are as deluded as the conspiracy theorists who don’t believe our astronauts actually walked on the moon. There is no piece of documentation that will satisfy them. What really bothers birthers and their ilk is our president’s race. But because it’s politically incorrect to say so they have to find some other way to attack him. Hence, harping on his citizenship, or lack thereof.

I won’t be part of a party that sanctions these kind of shenanigans and will bring more ridicule down on Kansas.

Kobach and company need to get over the fact that Obama won. He’s the president and was born an American citizen.*

I’ve had some local friends comment on my letter. The ones who’ve spoken to me about it liked it, and I imagine those acquaintances who don’t like it simply didn’t mention it to me.

I don’t want to be part of a quarrel with my aunt. But I also don’t want to discuss this issue with someone who is so Republican that they think Ronald Reagan was one of our greatest Presidents.

So, should I open the letter and raise my blood pressure?:stuck_out_tongue: Or should I let it lurk in a dark corner for a while?

2

Read it! And then tell us what she said. And then we can give you advice on how to respond.

It sounds like great fun for us!

3

Yes, I agree. Read it to us. It will be fun!

4

For selfish reasons that are probably similar to those of the posters above, I concur. The fact that my reasons are selfish should guide you in your decision.

Please don’t feel pressured to pander to my desire for entertainment at the expense of your relationship with your aunt.

5

I’d steam it open and make sure it wasn’t, “Hey, let’s reconcile our differences; I rewrote my will and named you sole beneficiary. PS. excuse the elephant, I’m trying to use up the last of my elephant labels before the ones from Greenpeace arrive.” then I’d seal it back up and take a video of me burning the apparently unopened letter and then send that to her.

6

You know, there are times when it’s brought home to me just what a self-centered twit I am.

Is my face VERY red?

I opened the letter, and it’s not related to what I described in the OP. In fact, it’s part of a practical joke my cousin has played on me, with my aunt’s aid.(She’s also his aunt)

See, this cousin and I went to cross town rival high schools. We still kid about it. A couple of weeks ago my school was thoroughly stomped by his school. In the past when this happens he’s sent me copies of our paper’s article about the loss, But by now I know his handwriting and once sliced such a missive up and returned it to him. So my clever cousin sent it out of state, to my aunt, and she helped by mailing it to me.

So there’s no political dog fight that’s going to occur. For the sake of family harmony I suppose that’s good. Now I have to figure out how to get back at my cousin(we are really the best of friends.)

7

I understand you don’t want this to interfere with your relationship with your aunt, but from her perspective, that ship has already sailed. She’s already written you this letter, and sent it. Her view of you is already different from what it was. So you’re not going to prevent anything by not reading it. In fact, you’d be better off knowing how you stand with her now, and you might actually improve things in the end if you work it out with her.

IOW, post the damn thing already!

ETA: NM

8

I think conversations are important and that we have a duty as citizens to civilly engage the opposition. Sometimes this is not possible, but it does not hurt to try and you can always agree to disagree. If your aunt is going to try and defend the birthers, it is probably not worth your time, if she is going to try to win you back over to the Republican party on policy issues, it may be worth the listen. It all depends on whether she is a rabid partisan or not.

For myself, I have given up on political communication with all but one of my right-wing partisan nutjob relatives. There are only so many times I can hear the words feminazi, Kenyan , Ayers, socialist, communist, appeaser, etc… when I am trying to discuss what policies would be best for our country.

The one relative I still talk to is still anti-Obama and a die-hard Republican, but we both make points and agree quite often on different things. I find these conversations educational and worthwhile even though they have not changed my mind or his. YMMV.

ETA: Well that’s too bad, I was all set to be amused.

9

Sometimes there is no elephant in the room to talk about. :smiley:

10

Moved Elections --> MPSIMS.

11

You are so right.

12

The elephant has no clothes.

13

It sounds like this letter to the editor was a big step for you.

In business we call this a noisy withdrawal. The most common example (which doesn’t really occur very much anymore) is when an accounting firm very publicly and loudly announces that they will no longer be auditing the books for some company, or if a law firm says they will no longer be representing a company. It is very rare these days (either because of higher ethical behaviour on the part of the clients or less ethical behaviour on the part of the accountants and lawyers) but it takes a lot of professional will.