Maybe it was in the stars that I should have been so bold as to wear my Obama-Biden button to the neighborhood chili supper on Sunday. After all, I do live in the most Republican county of all the 82 counties in Mississippi. Here's what Sunday's horoscope said for Sagittarians:
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Finally, you speak freely about your passions. This is risky, though. Take care not to light a fire under a person who doesn't agree. If you don't know who this is, you'll soon find out.
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As I entered the clubhouse, I immediately drew fire from the first elderly woman to greet me, but my friend Pam, herself an unapologetic Republican and Bush supporter, promptly defended me with, "It's a free country and she can vote for whoever she wants to vote for." Thank you, Pam. It's Republicans like you who keep me from writing off your party wholesale.
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As the rest of our neighbors began to arrive, there were 3 people who sidled up to me and whispered words like, "I like your button," "I admire your courage," "You are one brave woman." While it's comforting to know I'm not the only left-leaning person in the 'hood (I may be the most audacious one, but I no longer feel like the freak I once did), I think it is incredibly sad that any American feels too intimidated to let their political affiliations be known. That is what the politics of hate and fear, as promoted by FOX, Limbaugh, et al and practiced by right-wing nuts, will do. My "enough button" got pushed on those tactics long ago.
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I had a nice conversation with these closet-Democrats before I left. One of them even predicted a landslide of the '84 variety. He's an attorney who has been in several circuit clerks' offices in Mississippi and has heard that new voter registrations are at an all-time high and that the volume of early voting by absentee ballot is unprecedented. People have never been so enthused about voting for a candidate as they have for Obama, he told me. Gosh! I hope he's right.
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Needless to say, I enjoyed this get-together very much.