Predisposed

I'm sure that anyone who checks in here on a regular basis has seen that I've been spending a lot of time on politics lately. For anyone reading this who might not have known my dad, let me just say that if he had had a soap box like this one, he would have been posting seven or eight times a day, and I'd dare to speculate that over 99% of them would have dealt with politics. Dad had a very strong opinion on pretty much everything, and it was usually a pretty well considered position (meaning he spent a lot of time thinking about this kind of thing). He also wasn't overly tolerant of differing points of view, but I like to think that I'm more open minded, and able to tolerate people who are wrong... OK, maybe I'm not so different after all. I'm not trying to say that I'm genetically predisposed to strong opinions, or to argument, but certainly my upbringing has left me that way. You see, really dad was open minded, he would listen to opposing points of view before he said that they were dead wrong and stupid. We were allowed to disagree with dad, just as long as we could support our position with facts and reason. Maybe I'm just a little tempered by mom also. Oh, she had (and still has) very strong opinions, but she was never nearly so quick to share them as dad was. When mom stood up and took a position, there was no question, she had given it some very serious thought for quite some time, and looked at it from as many angles as she could think of, and had come to the conclusion that she had it all nailed down, and changing her mind was going to be no small feat. You'd usually have to ask mom for her opinion, unless it was one of her hot button issues, but if you wanted to know what dad thought you needed only to be in his line of sight, and not to worry, he'd work to get you in his line of sight just so he could tell you. My brother and I used to get so embarrassed just going into a store, knowing that dad had pamphlets and handouts, and unsolicited advice for anyone and everyone who cast a glance in his direction, but that was just dad being dad, and looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way. Now don't get me wrong, this is only one side of my dad, he was, for the most part, a very happy person, and for all the hardships he faced in his life he never became bitter or miserable, he just kept praising God and handing out opinions. So, I hope you like reading my political commentary, 'cause I seem to be predisposed to writing it, and I'll leave you today with something my grandmother had on a sign in her kitchen: Everyone Is Entitled To My Opinion.