How to talk
politics to an American
By DW Hamilton
Naturally, there are Americans who
crave a good discussion of
politics, but one can’t approach
this quarry willy-nilly. Don’t
just saddle up to a complete
stranger and say, “Hey, so what do
you think about abortion?” (or the
death penalty, George Bush, Iraq,
nuclear waste, whales, or gay
marriage).
You
need a bit of an icebreaker. Try
this bon mot, “Did you hear
what happened today?” Usually,
the subject will reply, “No,
what?” Now is your chance to
quote a recent headline or top
story, such as “Oil profits are at
an all time high.” Then add, “How
do you feel about that?” Now,
there is a least a possibility the
conversation will go a bit
deeper. A very likely response
could be, “I hate it, but what can
you do?” Now is your opportunity
to weigh in on SUVs, hybrids, big
oil, bio-diesel, and depending
upon whether your conversational
partner gives a rat’s ass
you might even have that heady
discussion for which you Europeans
long.
However, there is a very distinct
possibility, far worse than mere
apathy, that you’ve unleashed the
pent up personal rage normally
left to fester beneath our
seemingly blasé American
exteriors. Entering a political
conversation can be like entering
a mine-field. Europeans have
expressed to me how surprised they
are when discussions of a
political sort turn vehemently
nasty. Like small children who
have never been allowed to
rough-house, we don’t know how to
play fight in a nice way. It is
because people have sat on their
opinion for so long, it simply
erupts. This is why these days,
many people avoid political
conversations at all costs. It
wasn’t always like this. In my
lifetime, dinner conversation in
the 1960s and 70s was full of
pithy social discourse. It was
like a sort of verbal tennis
match, and it was considered
socially desirable to be able to
talk in an informed way about the
events of the day.
In the
80s, it seemed, cocktail and
dinner conversation waned, unless,
of course it was about how to make
more money. Having strong
opinions was seen as detrimental
to one’s career, and besides,
after the Vietnam War,
stagflation, the Arab Oil embargo
and Jimmy Carter, people were just
plain tired. The tendency became
to “tend one’s own garden.” This
is how Oliver North could be
hailed as an American hero.
Other
factors have contributed to our
conversational lull. There are
fewer and fewer places to actually
talk. Television dominates a
one-way conversation in what once
was our primary forum for
discussion – the parlor. In most
nightspots, the music is too loud
to allow for any meaningful
conversation. Cable and the
internet have allowed people to
specialize only in the news that
interests them. The “news” takes
up less and less time, as
entertainment gossip and lifestyle
tips fill what’s left of the
half-hour after commercials.
The
good news is that somebody seems
to be reading those newspapers
available at Starbucks and
McDonalds, and the 2000s answer to
Citizen’s band radio is the
internet blogs, where you
virtually can saddle up to a
complete stranger, and weigh in on
any subject you like. Just not
face to face. It is safer that
way.
©
2006 All content property of European Weekly unless where otherwise
accredited
