The First And Only Thing My Family Agrees On

My three brothers and I were raised in rural northern California, about an hour north of San Francisco, on six acres of redwoods and--surprisingly--surrounded by both right-wing conservatives and left-wing liberals. Most of the time, we didn't know if we wanted to smoke dope with our hippie neighbors to the north, shoot at our hippie neighbors to the north from the back porch of our conservative neighbors' house to the west, or take refuge from the political chaos with our neighbors to the south.

Our small town was also torn between conservatives and liberals, as well as those who just tried to keep their heads down and stay out of it. A perfect example was when liberals introduced alternative education into the grade school curriculum; immediately, conservatives responded by introducing a 3-Rs curriculum. Of course, the original curriculum was soon squeezed out, leaving nothing but a highly polarized grade school with teachers and curricula competing for their shares of the pie. My parents tried to keep our family out of the academic tug of war--especially after mailboxes began getting smashed and living room windows began getting shot out--and were probably only successful because my youngest brother graduated before the war got to the point of forcing us to choose sides.

More after the fold...

But I wonder, to this day, how my brothers and I would have chosen had we been forced to. The fact is, the political divisiveness of our small town had an effect on all of us.

The political ambiguity of our childhood was probably exacerbated by our parents. My father, an ex-Marine who supported the Vietnam war until long after it ended--and possibly until the end of his life--could never forgive Johnson, Fonda and all of the other Democrats he felt had "lost the war". My mother, on the other hand, is one of the most liberal women I know, despite being raised by two staunch conservatives known to every office holding Republican in California and the country. Somehow they got along--better than Carville and Matalin, I'm sure--but I don't recall them discussing politics much, or at least at the level I expect most couples would. In the end, I don't know that they had much of an effect on my political development, and I have always suspected the same was true for my three brothers.

Two of my brothers are more or less conservatives--not Christian conservatives, but economic conservatives--though I would call them independents rather than Republicans. One of them is a third tier manager for a high tech company in Silicon Valley who once voted for H. Ross Perot; understandably, he worries more about economic policy than foreign or social policy, but is well educated and makes fairly informed choices when elections roll around. Yet I have heard him echo Republican talking points enough to know he probably leans right when he isn't sure. For example, when I once pointed out the magnitude of the national debt, he quickly assured me the debt was no problem because nobody knew what level of debt was good for the economy.

The other independent in the family didn't go to college, opting instead to become a highly successful small business owner whose clients include many household names. Foregoing college was the best choice he ever made, and has never limited him in the eyes of his family or anyone else. Like me, he is an avid reader with a deep interest in the world, and keeps up with current and world events as well as a reasonable, rational voter probably should. He votes more based upon economic policy than social policy, but foreign policy is also quite important to him. I'm certain he did not vote for Gore or Kerry, but while he probably voted for George W. Bush the first time around, I think Bush's first term convinced him to vote differently four years ago. At the same time, he lives in the country, is concerned about the environment, and is now even beginning to do green work for environmentally minded clients.

But the fact remains, neither of these brothers have probably ever joined me in voting for the same candidate. Frankly, I don't know how they vote most of the time, because I'm afraid that if I ask them, I won't like what I hear.

My other brother, however, is as liberal and as progressive as I am. He keeps up on all the important political issues and current events of the day, reads in depth on issues he feels most strongly about, and discusses his views with anyone who will listen. We agree in detail on almost every political issue we have ever discussed, and sometimes I feel we are trying to "out liberal" each other when we talk politics. As I a result, I never ask him how he's voting: I simply don't need to.

My mom used to be incredibly liberal, but in recent years has found a way to move even more left than before. I am just guessing, but perhaps after my father died, she felt freer to disclose and discuss her liberal views, not only with her sons, but everyone she knew. She also moved to a new, much more liberal, neighborhood, and now spends a lot more time with liberal activists railing about the environment, health care, social security and, always, the war in Iraq.

Needless to say, Christmas dinner--the only time we are all together usually--can be quite interesting and entertaining, with loud, passionate and animated political discussions raging until the wee hours of the morning. To my knowledge, we have never, ever come to a consensus on a single candidate, or even a single issue. It seems that, in this country, that's just the way it is: in any group of five Americans, including any family of five members, there is simply little chance of agreeing on any political issue or question.

But that changed on Super Tuesday.

That changed in a big way on Super Tuesday.

Because on Super Tuesday, my entire family voted for Barack Obama.

Christmas dinner is going to be pretty damn boring this year.