Email I sent to my family/friends

[Sober]

So I wanted to get some kind of dialog running amongst my family, which spans the political spectrum, from my ACLU card-carrying aunt in California to my radical-reactionary-practically-segregationist Dad here in Texas. I tried to create a completely neutral, non-incendiary email to encourage those people around me who are not involved/interested in politics to take a closer look. How effective does this seem? Is this a bad idea altogether? Anything I should have changed/included/omitted?

Hi friends and family, I'm proud to say that I've taken ownership in the future of my country. Today, I registered to vote, and made a small contribution to the candidate that best represents my values and ideals. I don't know how informed or enthused you are about the candidates, but I thought I'd provide some resources to get and unbiased look at their stances on issues, instead of soundbites from TV.

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Barack_Obama.htm
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Joe_Biden.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/John_McCain.htm
http://www.ontheissues.org/Sarah_Palin.htm

Whether you support John McCain or not, I think his account of his time in Vietnam is inspiring: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/200 ... count.html

I find Barack Obama's 2004 DNC keynote speech equally uplifting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awQkJNVsgKM

This election, we are lucky to have two candidates from drastically different walks of life, both of whom have a story that embodies the ideals of America. They are both great men, and they offer differing solutions to America's problems. It is my wish that every American analyzes the candidates and issues with as much scrutiny as possible, and votes according to their views on the issues, and not according to hearsay and slander.

If you wish to donate to either campaign, here are your links:

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/main
http://www.johnmccain.com/CONTRIBUTE/

Love,

Jimmy

[Billy's Little Trip]

That is a really cool idea, Sober. You may find that older people are not very willing to tell you who they will vote for. It's one of those things like asking a woman her age. But it sounds like you already have a good idea about that. But what I like best are the links you posted. A nice little list to get right to the issues in black and white....no pun intended.
Good luck with your quest.

[rone rivendale]

I hope you don't mind me hijacking the thread. But this was very interesting for me. My Mom sent it to me thru email today. It's a quiz that shows 13 sets of quotes, one from each candidate, about different topics. You choose the quote (without knowing the source) for each one and at the end it shows you how many of each side you picked.

http://abcnews.go.com/politics/matchoma ... id=5542139

I ended up 10 for Obama and 3 for McCain. I was already a Obama supporter so I think this quiz is pretty accurate at telling who's ideals you best identify with.

[JonPorobil]

Hey, that's a really good message, Sober. I hope your family isn't all at each other's throats by this time next week.

[Sober]

Thought I'd post a follow-up, if only to chronicle my extreme genius and skill in non-partisan writing, so that I might get a lucrative job freelancing for CNN. Except CNN is retarded, so fuck'em.

Anyway, my stepmother replied with a copy/paste email about how Democrats have destroyed social security. This is kind of silly because I'm fucking 23 years old. Anyway, I tried to be assertive in my rebuttal of her technique, while not being confrontational. Thoughts?

*I've spent the last hour and a half trying to craft a thoughtful,
intelligent message with great regard given to feelings, motives, and my
own conscience. Hopefully I have succeeded.

While I do tend to agree with fundamental principles that most people
would describe as socially liberal/economic centrist, I would not for a
second believe that any one system, party, or politician is infallible
or incapable of wrongdoing, double-speak, or incompetence.

My email was mainly an attempt to encourage some form of discussion with
my family and friends. I certainly hoped for discussion, rather than a
copy & pasted forward containing cherry-picked votes and loaded
rhetoric. I feel that this kind of partisanship, from either side,
drives our political process into the dirt, and drives people apart. I
believe that MSNBC and Fox News are both doing drastic harm to the
national discourse, regardless of whether I agree with what either side
is shouting about.

Obviously, there are a range of issues we likely disagree on, though
we've never discussed it at length because of my aversion to
confrontation or debate. I do hope, however, that at the end of the day
you could ask yourself "does Jimmy love this country, and want what's
best for it?" and find a comfortable 'yes,' even though you might
disagree with my definition or method of achieving 'best.' I feel that
you also love this country, and want what's best for it. I would defend
you against anyone who said otherwise, as I hope you would.

If my email was unfair or biased toward either party or candidate,
please point out how, as I know you're better with the English language
than I could ever hope to be.* I even did the pollster trick of
switching which candidates were offered first in series. If I were to
finish a degree in political science and continue on with a career in
public service, I wouldn't want anyone to be able to call me a partisan,
eh?

Regards,

Jimmy

* She's a stenographer, and has like a masters in English or some shit.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Thoughts?

That's a nicely written letter. But see if you can say it with fewer words, like maybe not even state where you or she stand, just talk about shaking hands in the middle. Drop the "better with the English language" line, it sounds suck-uppish.

[Caravan Ray]

I've always found the phrase "Blow it out your arse", useful in these situations.

...but that's just me

[JonPorobil]

Well, Sober, the first thing I'd say is that, rather than avoid any issue of substance in an attempt to create a non-partisan discussion, why not engage her in a debate on the issue she brought up with you? You can try to be non-partisan 'till you're blue in the face, but you know you're a Dem, and she knows you're a Dem, so you might as well be straight-up about it and rely on the facts as much as possible to defend your position. I happen to think the facts are on our side, and I also happen to think that this is why every news station except for Fox News gets labelled as "too liberal" these days.

Your original e-mail was an attempt to promote discussion. Your mother has engaged you in a discussion. Why try to avoid it? Tackle your disagreements and try to find some common ground.

In short: Discuss!

[Sober]

Well, Sober, the first thing I'd say is that, rather than avoid any issue of substance in an attempt to create a non-partisan discussion, why not engage her in a debate on the issue she brought up with you? You can try to be non-partisan 'till you're blue in the face, but you know you're a Dem, and she knows you're a Dem, so you might as well be straight-up about it and rely on the facts as much as possible to defend your position. I happen to think the facts are on our side, and I also happen to think that this is why every news station except for Fox News gets labelled as "too liberal" these days.

Your original e-mail was an attempt to promote discussion. Your mother has engaged you in a discussion. Why try to avoid it? Tackle your disagreements and try to find some common ground.

In short: Discuss!

She did not engage me in discussion, she forwarded a bag of shit. Also, if I had the opportunity in Texas, I wouldn't identify as Democratic.