So on the last trip to my MIL’s, we briefly ended up in a conversation about politics.  As you may have guessed, her politics are very different from our politics, and this led to lots of hysterical quotes for Spouse and I to laugh about afterwards.  But there were a couple things that have stayed on my mind . . .  I’ve even been tempted to write her an email explaining how offensive some of her statements were, and you know that would open a giant can of worms . . .

At one point she said something to the effect of “The Conservative party is based on values and ethics and the Liberals only believe in [pause] minority issues.”  I had to pause for a minute to deconstruct (and decide to ignore) the insults there and then I was like, “yeah, ok”.  Liberals *do* believe in so-called ‘minority issues’, and I’m rather proud of that.

But it’s stuck with me, this idea that ‘minority issues’ are somehow less worthy of attention.  It frankly makes my brain explode.  I mean, she’s a woman business owner making less than 100K a year — does she really think the Republicans care about *her*?  Nationally they don’t, and her local Republican party wouldn’t, if it weren’t for the fact that she’s given them thousands of dollars in election years.

Today via Casaubon’s Book (thanks Jo for introducing me to Sharon!) I read an article about impoverished Haitians eating dirt cookies to stay alive.  They talk to a 16 yr old mom, holding her SIX LB one month old infant, and that’s all they can afford to eat.  And I thought of my MIL . . . is this a ‘minority issue’?  A fellow mom is trying to sustain her infant on DIRT and I am supposed to look away or tell her to pull herself up by her bootstraps?  Really?  Although, with my MIL, what’s the alternative, really?  That she and her friends will pack their suitcases full of bibles and give them Jesus?

It’s making me really sick.  We’re at war, our neighbors are eating salty, trans-fats laden dirt cookies, but the real issues that I should be paying attention to are taxes and Hillary is bad and Obama has no experience and the immigrants . . .  My head is seriously going to explode.