Happy Veteran's Day

I used to work with a guy that was pretty much the complete opposite of a joy to work with. He was very negative and would never help anyone else. The most annoying thing was that he listened to Rush Limbaugh every afternoon.

No one can get me fired up quite like RL. It was pure torture for me to have to work with this guy. He was ecstatic when he found out I was a Democrat (the only one out of about 15 of us). When I worked afternoons with him he would have a whole laundry list of things he wanted to harass me about. It got to the point that I would start to tell him the most ludicrous things just to get him to leave me alone. I once told him that since I was a Democrat, I thought every woman should have an abortion. Whether she needed one or not. He never broached that subject again.

My coping mechanism became passivity. I just refused to engage him...he would eventually give up. The only subject I couldn't ignore was patriotism. It is a common misconception among conservatives that more liberal-minded Americans are not as patriotic as they are. I asked what his definition of patriotism was. He said it was love for your country. I asked him how one would express love for his country. He said by supporting our troops. I asked him what made him think that I didn't support our troops? Just because I didn't believe in the war they were fighting, I wanted them all to be safe and to make it back home. I appreciated all the hard work they were doing on our behalf. I told him I thought casting my vote in every (and I do mean every) election was my most patriotic duty. I donate money to the USO. I send my old cell phones to soldiers overseas. And as much as I hate what he says, I respect RL's first amendment right to express his opinion (although I don't think he feels the same way about mine).

I never changed his mind about anything else, but he never questioned my patriotism again.