Today my goal is to send out the rest of my Christmas cards for this year. It's a bittersweet task, not the least of which is that I have to remove names of people who have died. That's pretty much the only reason I take someone's name of my list. In the case of my liberal friends, I still send them cards, with the best of wishes for them. It is all sincere. I do wish them the best, whether they agree with me on politics. I know in most cases, this sentiment is not returned. To some of them, they will see my card and become enraged. This is partly because my cards this years are explicitly Christian, with a depiction of the Nativity and a religious message inside. For some, this is all it will take, to send them into a rage. So horrible is the Christian message to them. I don't know who will react this way, but certainly some will. I try to say something extra in each card that is reflective of the personality of the person receiving it. In the case of people who are hostile to Christianity, I even try to say something supportive of their politics which is sincere on my part.
The virtues and goals they express for the world are things I can usually agree with, even I disagree about how to go about them. I realize some of them will see this as snarkiness on my part, or a trick. They can't believe that I can possible wish them peace and joy, despite our differences, perhaps they would wish only an "F-U" to me, or a "please go away and die, I can't believe you are the same person I once knew, etc." None of that matters to me. In fact, I know it is part of the challenge on my part, to love and respect them despite ur differences, with one of those differences being whether to love and respect the people you disagree with.
That we are so far apart on this last point is poignant, because it is my experience that liberals, if they sense you disagree with them, seem to believe that you simply haven't gotten the message yet. You need to be informed that you are wrong, and then you will change your mind. They don't understand that I already know how much we disagree, that I understand where they are coming from in many respects, and yet I still believe what I believe.
Most liberals I know, when I meet them now, are ready with a story about something that happened to them recently which demonstrates just how stupid and ignorant Christians are, and how obnoxious they are in the public sphere. They always have a personal incident to tell me about. They are eager to share it. Bless their hearts. I love them for that. I love them all still. I do wish them joy and peace in the new year. It is a test for me to maintain this, knowing how they feel. I will say nothing to them that needs to be unsaid later, even if there is no later, which is probably the case. Sending Christmas cards, as I've said, is civilization itself to me. Even if I am the last one, I will do it.
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