Up & Coming Weekly

October 03, 2017

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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OCTOBER 4 - 10, 2017 UCW 5 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Let's be totally honest about this. American politics is and always has been a contact sport. e presi- dential campaign of 1800 between John Adams and omas Jefferson birthed negative campaigning, and blistering rhetoric has continued ever since. Modern technology exploded the ugliness. at being said, the presidential election of 2016 ramped up the negativity to heretofore unimaginable levels, continuing into the Trump presidency. ere are casualties not just among the candidates but among we the American people. I will never feel quite the same about a longtime acquaintance, who during the cam- paign greeted her lunch companions with, "Well, the number is up to 43." When asked "Forty-three what?" she coolly replied, "Forty-three people that Hillary Clinton has killed." Love her or loathe her, what rational person believes that Hillary Clinton has personally murdered 43 people? Suspending disbelief is one thing, but deluding oneself and others is quite another. I find myself avoid- ing conversations with people I know have different political views, simply because I do not want to beat the dead horse of last year's election yet again. I am not alone in feeling my per- sonal relationships shift during and after campaign 2016. A Reuters poll of more than 6,000 Americans taken early this year found that the number of people who have argued with family and friends over politics leapt six points above levels of disagreement in the final weeks of the campaign. According to Reuters, "after the most divisive election in modern US politics, fractured families and upended relationships, a number of Ameri- cans say the emotional wounds are as raw as ever and show few signs of healing. ... e rancor has not dissipated as it has in the aftermath of other recent contentious US elections." e poll suggests "a widening gulf between Republicans and Demo- crats and a hardening of ideological positions that sociologists and political scientists say increases distrust in government and will make political com- promise more difficult." e poll cites comments from several participants. Gayle McCormick, 73, a retired prison guard, has separated from her husband of 22 years over his sup- port of Donald Trump. "It really came down to the fact I needed to not be in a position where I had to argue my point of view 24/7," she told pollsters. On the other end of the spectrum, Trump support- er Rob Brunello, 25, said he has faced antagonism from both friends and family for his political views. Writing for the Huffington Post, Anna Almendraia recounted the pain of Jennifer Conti who begged her father not to vote for Trump after he bragged about groping women in the same way Conti had been groped as a child. Her father supported Trump anyway. Almendraia suggests asking our- selves several questions before we try to heal broken relationships or decide to move on without them. 1. How do you feel now that you know about a dear one's views? Are you willing to work on your relation- ship or are you willing to walk away? 2. Did the 2016 election create a rift or uncover an existing one? 3. Is your dear one willing to work on the relationship with you? If so, can you cope if you cannot come to terms? 4. Finally, is it time to walk away from people with whom you pro- foundly disagree? e Reuters poll revealed some posi- tives to balance the negatives, at least partially. About 40 percent of those polled have not quarreled with dear ones over the 2016 campaign. What is more, 21 percent reported that they have made new friends because of the election. An Illinois woman said she has a new circle because of shared support for Hillary Clinton. None were men- tioned, but presumably some Trump supporters became chummy as well. e bottom line for many Ameri- cans is that arguing over politics, and specifically over Donald Trump, is an utter and bitter reality, and some of us are not going to "get over it." Arguments are both facilitated and amplified by technology and social media, leaving few places in either reality and or in cyberspace acrimony-free. Today's reality leaves many Americans, including this one, suspicious of others' beliefs in ways we have not been during my lifetime. It is not a comfortable place to be. Strange Bedfellows or Splitting the Blanket Down the Middle by MARGARET DICKSON OPINION MARGARET DICKSON, Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. (910) 484-6200. one year special $ 15 for UP & CoMING WEEKLY rEadErs oNLY you save 89% off Tv GuIDe MaGaZINe Get A GreAt DeAL from tV GuiDe mAGAzine start Your subscription online, By Mail or Call online: tvguidemagazine.com/newsoffer mail: complete order form below call: 1-800-365-1940 WHeN CaLLING use PRoMo: K6fNsWPZZ Every issue delivers inside scoop on your favorite shows Breaking news keeps you in the know Highlights help guide you to what's worth watching Your favorite stars take you behind the scenes 28 Pages of easy-to-use primetime listings GrEaT rEasoNs To sTarT YoUr sUBsCrIPTIoN A Reuters poll of more than 6,000 Americans found that the number of people who have argued with family and friends over politics leapt six points above levels of disagreement in the final weeks of the campaign.

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