It Was There - We Didn't See It

In the early 2000's Big Cuter walked down the Capitol steps, fuming.  He phoned home from those steps, bemoaning the fact that his interview in the office of  Republican Representative Darryl Issa had devolved into a How could you have worked for this radical leftist last summer (San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno) rather than an exploration of what he could offer this man's constituents. 

He went in for a job interview and found himself skewered on the spit of partisan politics.  It was surprising, odd, out of the ordinary, not at all what he (or his parents or the mutual friend who arranged the meeting) thought would happen.  

"He didn't listen, Mom.  He just kept shoving more and more paper in front of me, trying to prove his point."

We didn't recognize it then, but in retrospect it seems like a very early and very clear sign of the American divide.  I'm right, you're wrong, and there's nothing we can gain by sharing a space.  

It's frightening.  

I have a dear friend on the other side of the political spectrum.  We disagree about everything except kindness and respect.  As she often says, "I'm a Republican.  I'm not crazy."  

I yearn for the days when that statement was not met with skepticism, when it was acceptable for people of good will and kind hearts to be members of the GOP.   I wonder when those days were.  They obviously weren't there when my kid wanted to do constituent service for all the voters, not just the ones whose views aligned with Issa's.  

This is America.  Maybe it's always been 74 million Americans looking for a cult leader to show them the way to the Promised Land.  It certainly was this American at the dawn of the century in an office in the Capitol.  My son was there.