Getting Slammed By My Republican Friend

As we have all witnessed, no matter what political party with which we align ourselves, this is a year of historic proportions. I even think there are some changes in our world that have begun that we can't even see yet (climate change, hybrid cars, the economy). We will look back many years from now and realize that this was the year it all began. There will be a special chapter set aside in history books to tell the story. But that isn't what I want to talk about. There are plenty of political blogs out there that can cover that side of the story. When Obama was elected president, I cried with joy. Yes, I can tend to be a bit sappy when it comes to just about anything, from Hallmark commercials to kids sharing candy. This was different. I heard his acceptance speech, and tears of joy simply streamed down my cheeks. No sobbing or blubbering. Just shear joy. I know my experience isn't unique. There was a collective sigh of relief across America that night. It's not that side of the story I want to tell either. What happened to me next is unique. A few weeks after the election, the phone rang, and it was my very best friend calling. She and I have know each other since third grade, so 8 years old? That makes it nearly 25 years that we've known each other. Not just known each other I should say - lived our lives together. We've always been very close. Her children call me Auntie. Hearing her voice on the other end of the phone line, I again felt the elation I felt on election day. I began to urgently tell her of my excitment. We have always delighted in each other's joy. She stopped me abruptly. "Your political views are obvious, but it would be best if we didn't speak of them." Why not? "Because we have differing political views." We do? How do you know? She'd known for a while, but never said anything. I, on the other hand, was clueless. We have differing political views? What? How? And why has it never come up before. "Because if it had, we wouldn't be friends anymore." I'm not certain we still are now. You see, she told me that because of her wealth, she has to be a Republican. What!? It was the second time I had heard that point of view. My husband's in the military, so I have to be Republican. It's our meal ticket. What is happening? How is it that I've managed to wake up in a world where people think they have to believe something simply because of their job or their money? How is it that my closest, dearest friend in the whole world has never expressed her true views to me? Am I really that close-minded? Am I too self centered to notice such a disconnect? How can I possibly attempt to be a part of a society that I have clearly denied all these years? Or is it simply that one relationship has gone terribly wrong? After that conversation, I had a serious crisis of conscience. I need to step back and really look at what I've become and how I listen. I just can't fathom the idea of someone I am so close to believing in Republican politics. Maybe I don't really know who she really is. So, maybe my happiness at a regime change as it were is really a distraction from what's truly happening. Maybe I need to listen a little bit more. As for being open to the views of others, I always thought I was. I'll be the first to admit I was wrong, but now what?