Somewhere in the middle

“I thought you leaned a bit to the left,” the plumber said to me this morning. We were talking as he was finishing up winterizing a building for me. We’ve known each other for years. I’ve coached a couple of his kids on the soccer pitch. Chatting as often happens, we got into a discussion about politics.

Familiar themes were discussed: the economy, jobs, immigration, housing, and so on. As we chatted, I think we both realized that while our perceptions of each other were that he thought I leaned more to the left, and I thought he leaned more to the right, we agreed more often than not on topics. We met in the middle. And did so like two rational human beings. It was refreshing. It felt like what politics used to be.

Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t agree on everything. And that’s okay. I respect his opinion, and I certainly felt like my viewpoint was heard and respected – even if he didn’t agree with me. Ha ha! Discourse!

In the hyper-partisan times we’re in, it’s great to talk to people you know and not get into a left vs right argument.

I think we need more of this. The federal election could be called at any time. Ontario’s premier has an itchy election-calling trigger finger. Both will cause more left and right debates. Hopefully those debates go as well as that had by myself and the plumber, landing somewhere in the middle with respect for each other and our differences.