As I alluded to in Politics and Marriage, Wayne and I don’t always agree on candidates. However, once in a while we do.
The last presidential election was probably the most united we’ve ever been on any vote. Not so much because we were both gung ho for the same candidate as because we were both passionately against the other.
In our years together we’ve learned that we both enjoy politics. Not so much volunteering to help with campaigns, but at least analyzing the issues and candidates.
Sometimes we have great debates about our respective ideologies. Other times we’re relatively in sync and just have mild discussions.
But the fact of the matter is we both have an opinion, and while we take the other person’s perspective into consideration if it differs from our own, we don’t base our choices on theirs.
That’s what frustrated me the last election. So many of my women friends who are headstrong and opinionated on every other subject had no interest in discussing politics with me.
That was fine. That didn’t bother me. Some people don’t like talking about that stuff. But that wasn’t the case usually. This was: “Besides, I’ll probably just vote for whoever my husband does anyway.”
Say what?
It didn’t happen once, or twice, or even three times. It kept happening. So I started asking them why’d they do something like that.
“It’s easier that way,” came up a lot. So did, “He understands all that stuff better than I do so I’ll just pick whoever he does.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I’m talking about smart, college educated women who I admire greatly for their spunk and tenacity admitting they honestly trusted their husband’s judgment over their own in matters of politics.
As I wrote about in A Traditional, Yet Unconventional, Wife I have old-fashioned tendencies. For the most part. But something I draw the line at is letting my husband do my thinking for me on as crucial a decision as who’s leading the country I live in.
Don’t get me wrong. Voting the same is fine. As long as you’ve reached that decision independently and aren’t just casting the same vote to save yourself from thinking.
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