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11/27/2004: "How to Talk to a Dittohead (If You Must)"

With Turkey Day, the holiday season is upon us. This means that we’ll be standing around kitchens for the next month discussing politics. Speaking theoretically, some of you may encounter Dittoheads (I say theoretically because I don’t want to imply that anyone I’m talking to at one of my family get-togethers is of that ilk)! So we’ll just say that the law of averages will mean that a certain number of you will find yourselves hearing lines straight from the Rush Limbaugh show at family holiday parties. Politics seems to be a particularly frequent topic at such gatherings. (It doesn’t seen to be nearly as prevalent at company parties, for example). On top of this, there’s Ann Coulter’s new book. No way I’d enlarge her bank account by actually buying it, but Amazon had lots of interesting details. For example, she apparently offers the following advice about Talking to Liberals: “don't be defensive, always outrage the enemy, and never apologize to, compliment, or show graciousness to a Democrat.” Reflecting on these words, I realized that’s pretty much how I feel about that class of people whose sanctimoniousness, self-absorption, and enormous greed are putting at risk America’s hard-won moral stature and concern for posterity. So let’s take a week or so to turn the tables on Ann by offering some pointers on How to Talk to a Dittohead (If you Must), one topic at a time!