Aug 10 2007
Political Rant # 345271
Discussing politics at work should be an offense punished by catapult.
I’ve been kept on for another week or two at this position, but they have no office space for me, so they put me in the kitchen. If it sounds lame, it was (although today the big boss isn’t in, so I get to sit in his office and man, corner offices are sweet. I can see the sun.)
Anyway, the point is, I was trapped in the kitchen, doing work and eating an enormous container of basmati rice and palak paneer. People like to come in during their lunch and talk. Which I’m cool with. But the subject turned to politics the other day and the people discussing it wanted to include everyone. If someone walked in, they asked them. People were in a real hurry to leave. I was, too, but I couldn’t go anywhere.
I respect that many people choose different political views than me. I respect that they probably have some logical reasons for doing so, although listening to the logic some of these people discussed, I wanted to smack my head against the table. And whenever the conversation looked like it was getting to a point they would ask someone else’s opinion, I started shoveling rice and spinach into my mouth like mad.
I don’t know how most people come to their political views, but I read the news everyday. I’ve studied history, sociology, psychology, philosophy and anthropology at length. I’d like to believe I don’t just have these beliefs because I was raised to, but because I went out and actively sought information. People who are exposed to the same information I was reach different conclusions and that makes sense to me, and I respect it. But it’s hard for me to respect any opinions from people who don’t actively seek information. I mean, I can respect they have the right to have and express their opinions. But I don’t really give much credence to their opinions.
Politics really shouldn’t be a touchy subject, but it is for a lot of people. I treat my political views the way I treat my philosophical views - they’re constantly shifting but generally obey a few groundrules. I try to examine them in a distant way, a way that is open to discussion. But you never know how people will react to a political discussion wherein you diagree with them and have significant evidence to dispute them. People are attached to their politics the way they’re attached to their Gods. They think they’ve found the path that will solve everyone’s issues (because it solved theirs, arguably) and the only reason the world isn’t perfect is because more people don’t think like them.
I think everyone feels like that sometimes. I think driving would be better if everyone was as courteous and friendly and law-abiding as I am, but also I don’t believe that’s possible, and goodness knows I’m not going to try to create a law that everyone should wave and smile at passerby. Not everyone has as much fun driving as I do. Besides, it’s not as if I’ve never flipped anyone off when I had a bad day and they were driving agressively behind me.
But my point is, I hate engaging in discussions with people who think they have the one true vision of a perfect world, and there’s no way to tell whether the person you work with is one of those people until you know them. and it sucks to engage in a discussion like that when you don’t know if the people you’re speaking with feel that way, especially at work. I can respect the people I work with perfectly well but honestly, I’d like to keep it that way. Let’s talk about sports or music or your diet or your kids and we’ll have a good conversation.
K.
The contents of this blog entry may not reflect the views of the Webmaster of Doom, Michael.