I Lost A Friend Over This Election
A man I’ve known since high school, a man of integrity, a man with deep principles, took me to task for failing to go far enough in my interview with Tavis Smiley.
His lack of respect for the way I approached the matter was the final rift in a difficult friendship. He would consider himself more honest than I am. I consider myself more honest than he is.
He has studied Marxism and spent his adult life advocating the complete overthrow of capitalism, replacing it with a pure workers state. He belongs to a socialist party, and has for decades.
I believe that mankind will eventually organize itself in some manner which resembles that structure, but I do not believe it can be rushed. I believe that humans evolve behaviorally, and when they are ready for the next phase, they accept it.
Sometimes we forget how long we’ve been on the planet, and how far we’ve come.
He believes that I should have declared Obama a traitor and the two party system a sham. He believes I should have advocated the immediate abolition of capitalism. He was unsatisfied that I specifically mentioned “workers” instead of Obama’s mantra “the middle class”; he was unimpressed that I included all peace-seeking people of the world in my area of concern. He seemed not to care that I had declared all of the ideas of the current era of capitalists to have “melted down.”
I felt that I had delivered strong words, that I had attempted to begin a dialog regarding what should be possible in these next four years. I intended to have a lot more to say about that, and in future posts I will do exactly that.
My friend was utterly disdainful of my intention to seek to influence others by approaching them on their terms, and having a conversation about what is possible and what is necessary.
By the way, my former friend the revolutionary lives a quite comfortable bourgeois life, as do his revolutionary comrades.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Hello Walt,
I can assure you that you friend lost more than you did. I did not make the connection between “Walts” before, and I very sorry for that. I haven’t read your blogs in the past, but I always admire your comments. I just spent some time reading your writings though, and you are definitely a worthy “counterpoint” to Morris. Thank you for your contributions, and I’ll be in touch.
Dwane T.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Dwayne,
He and I have been friends since childhood, and I already regret the loss. What’s unfortunate is that his and my visions are not so different, but he is very militant and exacting, and he found my comments on TS to be too interpretable as support for Obama.
What I support is a strong leftward shift in this country and eventually in the world, and I believe that day will come (the TRUE definition of equality). I consider it essential that the Obama years not be wasted on “compromise”, “common ground”, “bipartisanship” and other code words for leaving the power structure as it is.
I hope that my friend and I can reconcile. I think you’d like him. He knows whereof he speaks.
Maybe one day he will come and contribute to this blog, and you will see what I mean.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:05 am
It’s always painful to lose a friend… particularly over something that had nothing to do with “being there for each other”. A friend of mine made the two hour drive to see me at work yesterday. He has been a staunch conservative since college, in his family tradition. We understand each other’s positions, and have bitterly discussed politics over the years, but the important thing at the end of the day is, if we need each other, we’re there for each other.
Yesterday he needed help with a business plan. But he also needed to know that I “Didn’t drink the Obama will change the world” cool-aid. He needed to hear a voice of reason coming from a familiar face. I don’t know if he got what he needed from me, but I know we parted with our usual extended hugs. I know he’s hurt, and he knows I’m proud, but we care enough about each other to put our perspectives on the table and leave our emotions in our pockets… until the subject got to our wives over-protecting our step-sons, then we let it all hang out.
I believe based on the fact that you two have such a long, strong history with each other, that however Obama’s run/reign works out you will need each other to put your overlapping worlds in perspective… because agree or disagree, no one understand you two like… you two. And I’ll pray for the reconciliation.