All day, I was moving around South Dakota and Wyoming. Peter and Tony was with me, among other people.
As we were driving the country road surrounded by green hills and small rivers, Peter and Tony started to talk about American politics. It was interesting to listen to their conversation.
Tony served in the Marines, and has been stationed in Okinawa and Iraq.
Peter is a paleontologist, and is an expert on dinosaurs.
Tony said that he did not want to call Mr. Obama "President of the United States". "For me, Obama is just Obama", Tony said.
Peter said, "you're wrong! Obama is our president. You may not like his policy, but the majority of American people chose Obama as our president. So Obama is YOUR president as well. I did not like George Bush, but since he was democratically elected by the majority of American people, Bush was my President, too"
Tony was not convinced. "It is not that I don't like Obama as a person, I just don't buy his policies. I signed up for the Marines at the age of 17. At that time, I did not go well with my mother. The country that I bowed to serve at that time, however, is not here any more. America has changed. It has changed for the worse. There is too much government intervention and red tapes. Obama is making America more bureaucratic."
"Well," Peter said, "I do think that there are cases where you do need government regulations. Look at the BP oil spill. That is a worst consequence of deregulation."
The conversation went on. It was fascinating to see how two people of polar political allegiances exchanged views in a frank and direct way. Both Peter and Tony did not back up. There was "collision" in that sense. The view of a person is formed over many years, and does not get changed overnight. It was like two massive mountains pushing each other. However, they were friendly all the same, "agreeing to disagree" .
Oh, my, that was a beautiful scene. I was moved, almost to tears.
4 comments:
Dear:Mr.Mogi
I wish that all of people understand all people is not
same, but everybody can be friendly each other, every body can think "agreeing to disagree".
Mr.Mogi, I think that you are trying to people do it in Japan. I would like to be in your side.
One of my ultimate wish is to talk
with a large number of people,
not only in Japanese
but also in English
while I rely on alcohol...
that is story in the far future.
How difficult to be under the
"time pressure" is!
Having such friends like them,speaking frankly and listening to each other,is the jewel of the life.
Thank you for your easy understanding sentences. Please take care and continue to discover something new.
Early June is the time for election primaries in the United States; so, conversations about politics become more frequent and sometimes heated as differences in values, perspectives, and opinions become apparent. I wonder if there is a way to go beyond agreeing to disagree to create movement toward more productive and positive possibilities.
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