Why Politics Shouldn’t Consume Your Life and Friendships

From Idaho to New York, It’s Ruining Lives and Dividing Neighbors

Chris Weidman calls himself a moderate Republican. He’s a devout Roman Catholic, believes in traditional marriage, and that a husband and wife make the best captains of a household. Both have defined roles, but if the man follows his prescription, he leads. And by example. None of this was considered unusual when we were growing up. Don’t paint Chris as an extremist; he isn’t forcing his values on anyone. We make our choices without coercion, and then we’re responsible.

I’ve had two exceptionally good friends in life who have been like brothers. Chris is one of them. We met as young broadcasters in 1989, when I was hired at WSYR in Syracuse, New York. We had talked by phone from different cities beforehand, sharing details on big stories breaking overnight. I worked for WSYR twice. So did Chris. Both times overlapped. Despite working in the newsroom and spending hours at news conferences, our personal conversation wasn’t about politics. It was football, favorite night spots, and women. We always made it work, despite harsh weather or late nights out. There were plenty of both in those days!

In a previous generation, guys like us would’ve worked on an assembly line, which is to say we didn’t grow up in cushy suburban towns. I was from the sticks. He was a city guy. It always struck me that a lot of silver-spoon types we worked with looked down on us as if we weren’t worldly.

Chris told me last week that many of our old newsroom comrades don’t talk to him anymore and won’t join him at retiree luncheons. It started when he mentioned on Facebook that he supported Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who publicly lives out his faith. He told me who the culprits were, and I’m not surprised. We’re talking about people who were woke 40 years ago, before it was a definition. Because they thought liberals were “cool”. They thought they were impressing others by being for any cause du jour. My impression was always that they had a poor work ethic, looked for shortcuts, and played office politics. Most didn’t have much adversity in their lives. Chris lost his mother at three, and I’ve been on record about the dysfunctional milieu in which I was raised.

I cite the story above because newsrooms have long been bastions of liberal bias. And an effort to enforce conformity. We were spared in our first go-around at WSYR because of a strong personality who directed our newsroom. A fire-breathing war veteran and Goldwater Republican. But men like that were rare even 40 years ago. As tough as he was, he enforced fairness in the workplace and in how we covered the news. The newsroom liberals constantly bitched about him being harsh. We were required to wear suits, pressed shirts, ties, and shined shoes. We won awards by the truckload. It was glorious for some of us, but the liberals couldn’t wait to find the next job.

America is a Moderate Country

I guess it’s fashionable among many conservatives to call my friend a Republican in Name Only (RINO), but consider that most Americans share his views. The country is slightly right-of-center. People don’t like extremes. The main goal of most people I know is to attain a measure of security and to be left alone. The latter is missing from a lot of people making noise in modern politics. They’ve forgotten the value that says if you leave me alone, I’ll reciprocate. “I do none harm, I say none harm, I think none harm,” are words attributed to St. Thomas More. He lost his head the following day. Because people were demanding he conform to their worldview. Many of my former coworkers are dangerous people, and they don’t realize the path they are walking. The same as the people in politics attempting to impose a control grid.

The Political Divide Hits Close to Home

I finished a show at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, and I drove to the new Twin Falls County Courthouse. Don Hall was being sworn in as the newest member of Idaho’s State House of Representatives. He’s filling a vacancy and will face voters next year. I’m already hearing the catcalls that he’s not sufficiently Republican, and he hasn’t even participated in one vote. As a member of the Twin Falls County Commission, he blocked mask mandates during COVID, and during the same manufactured crisis, permitted a music festival against the wishes of the Governor. Don stood for liberty twice during that trying time. And we aren’t exactly strangling on county taxes.

There’s No Such Thing as Consensus

Speaking of taxes, I brought up the subject at the event. House Speaker Mike Moyle presided over the ceremony. He was talking with a group of state and county officeholders when I arrived, and I explained that my last guest on Friday was a businessman who believes in scrapping property taxes. The question kicked off a discussion among the crowd, all of them Republicans, and there wasn’t any sort of consensus on the idea. Moyle presides over that scattered debate every session, and on a multiplicity of issues. To blame him for not being in your camp suggests you’re ignoring the lack of general agreement within the House. If you want your views to succeed, perhaps you should seize power and dictate policy. That would be extremist. Otherwise, logical persuasion is probably a better approach.

As I left the courthouse, I spotted Representative Jack Nelsen, who often raises the hackles of some fellow Republicans. I stopped to say hello. Why not? Because despite our differences, he’s always willing to explain his positions in a polite and friendly manner. He may not seek another term. He explained he hasn’t made a decision just yet. I’m reminded of something another local Republican told me about Representative Nelsen a few months ago. The fellow said he had disagreements with Jack, but then referenced a man who would like Nelsen’s seat. “The other guy is an asshole,” is what he said.

Don’t let politics consume your being.