Political Spam

I love my family, but...

I love my family, but I disagree with many of them about political issues. I went to Maine for Christmas and had a great time. It didn't hurt that I somehow managed to be in my bedroom during almost all the political discussions.

I received an email from an aunt tonight that was so anathema to me that I hardly know where to begin. The gist of it was:

Wouldn't it be great if the U.S. ended all economic and diplomatic ties with all countries who didn't support the war in Iraq? That sure would teach them!
We're not going to help any of those countries when they have famines or natural disasters -- Forget it!

And while we're at it, let's dig up oil from the Wildlife Refuge in Alaska so we won't need to depend on Middle East oil anymore!

Oh, and by the way, if you don't agree with this email, you should move to one of those countries we won't have diplomatic or economic ties with anymore.

Sometimes I hear an idea so nonsensical that my brain, my mouth, my fingers don't even know how or where to start. Aren't some ideas just so inherently stupid, so self-parodying that they don't need a response?

Now maybe it's really silly for me to get so worked up about a silly email. After all, no matter what my aunt or anyone else wants, that ain't gonna happen. (Well, let me take that back -- the oil digging very possibly will happen even though it would hardly begin to replace our dependence on foreign oil.)

I hesitate to get political on here because I don't want that to become the focus of my blog. But the dilemma I face is this:

Do I respond to the email or just let it go and delete it?

So far, I'm inclined to do the latter. But, of course, I wouldn't be blogging about this if that ended it for me.

It irritates me that: 1. She has these opinions 2. She includes me in a list of people who may appreciate them.

Yes, I know that everyone is entitled to their opinion and I don't have to read her silly emails. She didn't write it, after all, she merely forwarded it. For her, it's probably entertainment. For me, for some reason, it's not. It kinda makes me sick. It disturbs me that people think this way.

Debate about the pros and cons of the Iraq War? I can handle that.

Debate about whether we should shut down everyone who disagrees with U.S. foreign policy? Count me out.

When I worked at the newspaper, there was a reporter who had a quote pasted up in his cubicle:

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

-- Dr. Samuel Johnson

Still, blood runs pretty thick and family harmony is a beautiful thing. So thanks for letting me vent here.