Good Start, Oh Boy!

Sitting with some very dear friends recently, I overheard a man say this: "Looking at the election results, I have to say I was wrong."

Good start, I thought.

"I had no idea there were that many stupid people in America!"

Oh boy, I thought.

Do I say something, or do I just let it go? This has been a recurring theme for me. Usually it happens while I'm sitting in Starbucks, but that's not the only place I run into the opportunity to say something. I tend to vacilate between two extremes: either I say nothing at all or I overspeak. I wish I was more like Greg Taylor; he always seems to know the gracious way out of a situation like this.

I tried to say something. "I'm not sure the people who voted for Kerry are stupid. Maybe they're naive or something. Maybe they just have a different perspective on the issues. I know some very intelligent and thoughtful people who voted for him, and so do you."

The guy looked at me and said, "You're right. Stupid may be the wrong word."

Good start, I thought.

"Maybe a better word is idiots!"

Oh boy, I thought.