Sportin' Wood
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- Sep 24, 2007
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Sorry if the mods feel this needs to go to dungeon, it is not really a political post, but some may feel differently, participate if you are comfortable. I'm not really looking for a response, but more to make inmates stop and consider.
Last night the Wife and I attended a dinner party with about a dozen couples from the local community. They meet every Friday night for a dinner and cocktails social event. We've been invited many times and I normally say no. The Wife would like to socialize, I would rather stay home and be a hermit; she won the debate.
The couples are a mix of business owners, local politicians, or retired. All seem upper income, all seem about 10 years older or more than us. We knew only two couples from the Elks. All are pretty well connected and the women are equally if not more engaging in social topics and are well educated. One woman I spent time speaking with had owned a fairly large national IT company. These IMHO are successful, intelligent and rational people. The common denominator was that they are all unashamed and vocal Conservatives. That sets the stage for the topics of conversation. Current events, locally, nationally and globally. Keep in mind we are in a region where there are not many Liberals.
It was what I imagine a dinner party should be. Gin and tonics, wine, and bourbon, neat. Except the guy who was a Rancher and came to Montana in 1969, he drank PBR.
The first 20 minutes was an interrogation to see if we were worthy of the conversation, we held our own and quickly found acceptance as we have experience speaking Conservative Boomer.
The topic I thought worth your consideration was "What if Harris Wins?"
The response swung from the cleaning of firearms to the movement of money. I really don't think people who have been hunting for 40+ years need to worry much in Rural America about a zombie apocalypse, but there was certainly some ego stroking concerning collections of various weaponry, stockpiles of consumables and the skill of operation had by the male portion of the group. I'm certain some of ladies outperform the men.
I truly hope we are not burdened by what has been, but it is a topic we as a couple have given much thought. To be honest, I'm not entirely comfortable sharing anything from those conversation on a public forum, even with an alias, but it is worth sharing and safe to say, that those couples also had given it much thought.
The thing that struck me, was this is a questions others had considered in detail, not just a passing "we are fucked" but a genuine strategic consideration for personal finance, outward cultural perception, travel and personal preparation for supply chain disruption. It was also generally agreed upon that smart democrats likely also are having the same conversations about "What if Trump?"
I found it equally as interesting that when you strip away the amplified voices, that quietly people are making decisions based on the political winds. No matter if they are favorable, or unpleasant. It was also generally agreed that next week is going to be a shit show and that we should all be prepared for a wild ride. Like many I feel this may be the most important election of our lifetime. The die has been cast for us, we voted two weeks ago. We've never been so consumed with an election and we yearn for a return to normal. The problem, based on last night's conversations is that the election sadly won't settle the divide in our country. It will likely accelerate outward hostility.
With any luck, paranoia will not become preparation and this all settles back into the oblivious comfort of easy money, convenience and good times.
But have you considered; What if Harris?
Last night the Wife and I attended a dinner party with about a dozen couples from the local community. They meet every Friday night for a dinner and cocktails social event. We've been invited many times and I normally say no. The Wife would like to socialize, I would rather stay home and be a hermit; she won the debate.
The couples are a mix of business owners, local politicians, or retired. All seem upper income, all seem about 10 years older or more than us. We knew only two couples from the Elks. All are pretty well connected and the women are equally if not more engaging in social topics and are well educated. One woman I spent time speaking with had owned a fairly large national IT company. These IMHO are successful, intelligent and rational people. The common denominator was that they are all unashamed and vocal Conservatives. That sets the stage for the topics of conversation. Current events, locally, nationally and globally. Keep in mind we are in a region where there are not many Liberals.
It was what I imagine a dinner party should be. Gin and tonics, wine, and bourbon, neat. Except the guy who was a Rancher and came to Montana in 1969, he drank PBR.
The first 20 minutes was an interrogation to see if we were worthy of the conversation, we held our own and quickly found acceptance as we have experience speaking Conservative Boomer.
The topic I thought worth your consideration was "What if Harris Wins?"
The response swung from the cleaning of firearms to the movement of money. I really don't think people who have been hunting for 40+ years need to worry much in Rural America about a zombie apocalypse, but there was certainly some ego stroking concerning collections of various weaponry, stockpiles of consumables and the skill of operation had by the male portion of the group. I'm certain some of ladies outperform the men.
I truly hope we are not burdened by what has been, but it is a topic we as a couple have given much thought. To be honest, I'm not entirely comfortable sharing anything from those conversation on a public forum, even with an alias, but it is worth sharing and safe to say, that those couples also had given it much thought.
The thing that struck me, was this is a questions others had considered in detail, not just a passing "we are fucked" but a genuine strategic consideration for personal finance, outward cultural perception, travel and personal preparation for supply chain disruption. It was also generally agreed upon that smart democrats likely also are having the same conversations about "What if Trump?"
I found it equally as interesting that when you strip away the amplified voices, that quietly people are making decisions based on the political winds. No matter if they are favorable, or unpleasant. It was also generally agreed that next week is going to be a shit show and that we should all be prepared for a wild ride. Like many I feel this may be the most important election of our lifetime. The die has been cast for us, we voted two weeks ago. We've never been so consumed with an election and we yearn for a return to normal. The problem, based on last night's conversations is that the election sadly won't settle the divide in our country. It will likely accelerate outward hostility.
With any luck, paranoia will not become preparation and this all settles back into the oblivious comfort of easy money, convenience and good times.
But have you considered; What if Harris?