Division... (I'm not talking about Math here.)

This intertube business is... amazing.
Many of us have made friends via Blogs, Facebook, and other electronic means.
Count me as one of 'em... I consider some of these people CLOSE friends too.  (Motorcycle guys, you know who you are.)

Electronic means have also made it nearly effortless to stay in touch with others.
So... if you don't hear from someone for an extended length of time, you know that unless there is REAL trauma going on in someone's life, not hearing from them may be intentional.
"May"?
Should I write them? Should I let sleeping dogs lie?

Some years ago I had "friction" with a close friend over a political issue.
I have a big mouth.
He felt I was attacking his wife.
He defended her.
I felt she was my equal and was doing a pretty damned good job of defending herself.
He was angry. I was befuddled.
(Events now pretty much prove I was correct in my stance, which may or may not make this situation more murky.)
Liberal thinking these days excuses most offenses, even loss of four heroes in Benghazi. I have not had at-length intimate contact with this old friend since this incident.

Gossip happens.
A friend tells a friend.
Political shading may, or may not have happened.
"He said. She said".
Word got to me that I had been cruel.
I was angy.
I WAS NOT cruel.

Something happened this week.
Electronic means made it easy and almost instantaneous for me to express my sympathy to my old friend about something that happened in his life.
He responded almost EXACTLY as I thought he would.
Brothers... in many ways.

I know he stops by here to read frequently.
I know that he knows I'm talking about him.
I hope we can patch up our differences. A couple difficult years have passed since we were able to comfortably contact one another.
That's a waste.

But to me, it really boils down to this:
I am angry and sad about what is happening to the country I risked my life to defend.
I am circling my wagons around like-minded souls.
The country he and I grew up in has been destroyed by the very attitude that caused the friction between us some time ago.
Does he agree or disagree?

I hope he (and his wife) have his/their eyes wide open.
If so, maybe he'll consider bringing his stuff inside my (virtual) wagon circle.

What a MESS we now find ourselves in.
It's awfully hard to not be a loudmouth.