I’m tired of people telling me “Never talk religion or politics at a bar.” Well, why the hell not? Especially now that the most important U.S. presidential election in history is approaching and the future of Western civilization is hanging in the balance. It’s almost as bad as Kübler-Ross’ “Five Stages of Grief,” a bunch of B.S. that some psychiatrist came up with 900 years ago and that everyone today still takes as gospel.
Actually, if there’s one place where religion and politics should be discussed it’s at a bar. For one thing, aren’t we all tired of going over the same old topics? Have you seen this or that movie yet? It was awesome. How ’bout dem Cowboys?! When in the name of Guinness Stout are you ever gonna pick up a tab? And so on. For another, our less informed, blinders-wearing friends need enlightening. (Just kidding! But not really.)
The problem is that most folks approach the typical bar convo about religion or politics as an opportunity to speak their minds rather than as a gentle inquiry into what their friends think. True, booze tends to bring out the yappy a-hole in all of us, but if we’d remove the stigma associated with discussing high-minded and inherently sensitive subjects in bars, maybe we wouldn’t be as defensive and eager to tear the heads off people who aren’t as smart as we are. Um. I mean, “don’t agree with us.”
My advice: Go to your favorite watering hole and after ordering just ask the nearest person whom he or she is voting for. (Caution: Do not follow up his or her response with, “So. How’d you get so stupid?”)
