I’ve Been Having Strange Conversations Lately.

I was talking to a friend of mine on AIM, and had a pretty startling conversation. I have several people that I debate politics with. For that reason, I’m friendly with quite a few conservatives. I hadn’t heard from one of them in a while and so I decided to send him an instant message to see how he was doing. The conversation that ensued floored me.

(Note: This is the real conversation we had. Nothing has been changed except our screen names, which has been replaced for obvious privacy reasons.)

Me: hey man
A Conservative Guy: hey
Me: how you been doing?
A Conservative Guy: eh, ok. You?
Me: pretty much the same.
Me: this Iraq stand off is beginning to look like a game of chicken.
A Conservative Guy: I honestly don't know anything about it
Me: oh yeh...that's right. you refuse to watch the news right?
A Conservative Guy: just weather
A Conservative Guy: though I usually just go by weather.com
Me: i'm too much of a news junkie
A Conservative Guy: I can't watch
Me: why not?
Me: i mean...you could scream at the tube. I did it for 6 years.
A Conservative Guy: It makes me too depressed to see certain things.
Me: well...now the bushies are getting caught with hookers.
A Conservative Guy: I really can't talk about it
Me: well...it's funny.
A Conservative Guy: I don't think any of it is funny. it's sad.
Me: well you have to laugh...or i'd be pissed and depresseed all the time. so I just laugh at it all.
A Conservative Guy: I just stay away from it all now
Me: were you planning on voting anymore?
A Conservative Guy: no
Me: damn man.
A Conservative Guy: It's lose lose, if I vote for what I think is best for the country, I get called names and ridiculed and eventually trhe people I don't like get into power, if I don't vote, the people that are opposed to what i think is best get right in. So what's the point in voting?
Me: well...you have a republican representing you still right?
A Conservative Guy: yeah
A Conservative Guy: unless he was forced out
Me: what district are you in?
Me: I still have a republican representing me. I was pissed about that.
A Conservative Guy: 15th District.
Me: dave weldon? does that sound like the republican in your district?
A Conservative Guy: Yes, that's him
Me: well he's still there.
A Conservative Guy: ok
Me: and not voting would be just like giving a democrat an extra vote in your district.
A Conservative Guy: like I said, it doesn't matter.
A Conservative Guy: either way I lose
Me: well, power isn't absolute. the more power the republicans have the less the dems have.
A Conservative Guy: I would rather spend the last few days of this country being as it was intended ignorant and in my own little world rather than listen to it being demiolished from within.
Me: you expect it's going to be demolished?
A Conservative Guy: it was last time I was watching, I don't expect it's any better, and quite frankly I don't want to see it go like that.
Me: well, what if the country actually gets better.
A Conservative Guy: last I checked, it wasn't, just losing what little was left of what we once had. Soon we'll be a part of europe again, just another satellite state
A Conservative Guy: I'm pretty sure I'll be dead by then, and glad of it.
Me: i don't think europe wants us
A Conservative Guy: Europe has always wanted our power and influence, ever since they lost it. They'll be more than glad than to belittle and take us apart, and to help those within trying to do so, until they can be over us once again
Me: well, the thing is that the old power structure of europe is dead and gone. there is no more great in great britain. the empires are history. the european union is too diverse and democratic to be impirialist. China might take our spot..but that's it.
Me: mostly we're loosing the domestic side of things. people are better taken care of in europe. that's where we're really lagging behind to an embarrassing amount
A Conservative Guy: I can't talk about this, it's exactly what I'm talking about.
Me: we can't even keep up with Brazil now. they've got bio-fuels to run their cars.
A Conservative Guy: There was a time when people wanted their country to be great, but now all they want is to be taken care of. Americans have lost their spirit. That's why I can't talk about it, it depresses me to see us become Rome.
Me: well, if we as a people are well taken care of, isn't that the same as all of us taking care of each other? isn't that great?
A Conservative Guy: maybe it's inevitbale in any powerful civilization
A Conservative Guy: to fall apart under the weight of it's own greed and selfishness.
A Conservative Guy: bred and circuses to keep the masses happy until the government goes broke buying them bread and circuses
Me: well, our greed and selfishness has been hurting us for a while...but i think most common regular americans on the street are pretty compassionate
A Conservative Guy: most jsut want to be coddled, well now it can take care of me, too I just don't care
Me: well, we haven't been taking care of each other, and we're broke now by 8 trillion.
A Conservative Guy: it doesn't matter, might as well be 15 trillion, no one cares about the debt as long as they're aken care of.
A Conservative Guy: I just can't tgalk about it anymore, man, no more
Me: we need to raise taxes like crazy and cut spending like crazy.
Me: yeh man.
A Conservative Guy: It makes me sad, I can't talk about it anymore. I have to just stay out of it
Me: man, I don't mean any offense. but have you considered that what you think is best for the country might not be?
A Conservative Guy: I can't talk about it, I believe we've lost our spirit and surrended to our want for life to be easy. I can't talk about it.