All in the Family

Over caprese salads at Bertuccis the other night, my mother dropped a bomb* on me about my brother, Peter. My first reaction was one of disbelief.

"No way!", I said. "He's just young and doesn't know any better. He's still figuring out who he is."
"I don't think so", my mother replied. "He said he has felt this way for a long time, and he's 25! He's old enough to make his own decisions".

"I don't know..", I said. "I feel like he's just saying his to get a rise out of us. You know how he loves to be shocking. I bet if we just ignore him he'll forget all about it."

"Sarah, I think you better come to terms with this".

And so I have been trying to do so. I consider myself to be an accepting person; I try very hard not to judge other people by their beliefs and life choices. But in my own family? It is an entirely different story. I want better for my brother. He deserves better.

What would you do if you found out your only sibling was an ultra- conservative Republican?

He has always been a little conservative, but in an Archie Bunker "I just want to get a rise out of people" kind of way. Like any time I ever mentioned any social issue he would contradict me and then try to debate me about it. I always thought he was half kidding and just trying to piss me off. And he never labeled himself politically, and in fact is a registered Independent.

But apparently in my abscence, this "Republicanism" has taken root and flourished like a hot house flower from overexposure to The O'Reilly Factor and Scarborough Country.

He is my brother and I love him, and as such I intend to help him. There are people we can talk to. Maybe some counseling? If other people want to live their life that way, that's their business.

But not in my family!


*not to be confused with an LED device