Last August I posted  about my friend who had no insurance. In my frustration with the hue and cry of all the "poor uninsured" I used her and her family as an example of why that was a bogus claim. I still stand by the idea that too many are uninsured out of choice and not circumstances, but that's not what this particular post is about.
   My friend read my post and became quite upset. Her personal life was on the net for all to see. She had a right to be angry. Sometimes people, as it was with me, become so emotionally involved in a political stance that they forget that people really are just people. This woman and her husband do things that I don't agree with politically, but they are good people. They have raised two children in a neighborhood most people would drive through with the doors tightly locked. They have taught their children to be respectful of others and to ignore the color of one's skin. My friend grows a beautiful garden that she has carved out of the poor city soil completely alone and by hand. She has worked for years to bring beauty to her small portion of the world, and has done so quite spectacularly.
   When we become so involved in the machinations of politicians, to the point of skewering our own friends, we become no better than those we castigate. There has never in the history of the world been a politician who truly cares about the daily lives and routines of those they profess to lead. Politics can very easily cause people to become arrogant, antagonistic, and blind to the multifaceted facts of any topic. I bought into that, and I sincerely regret it. My friend had a right to be angry with me, and I am glad she has forgiven me for my stupidity.
   I will still probably disagree with her on some things. I will probably still manage to tick her off by running my mouth once too often. But in our basic beliefs about life and how to treat others we are as one, and I forgot that for a time in my earnestness to show how smart I was. It is very humbling to have to say you were wrong, but I was. I saw a quote somewhere once, I apologize for not being able to cite the source, but it is apropos of this moment;
   "A friend is one who can see right through you and still enjoy the view."

I hope we can all remember that in the coming months of political rhetoric and frustration.