In Which We Rant...

I'm most of the way through my "Thanksgiving Comes First" blog, as requested by Suldog. I had every intention of posting it tonight but I need to get this off my chest first.

(I am a bit worried about myself though. As I grumbled and mumbled to myself on the way home from work, I heard myself say these words, "I'm so blogging about this." Oh... My... Gawd. I've become a KitKat Commercial cliche. Save me!)

I work with a guy. Let's call him "Keith." I've spent the last year and a half telling people what a nice guy he is. And he is. He is. But g*dd*mm*t, he makes me nuts. Keith came off the production floor. He was one of the team leaders. When he was hired into our department, the plant supervisor told the hiring manager that he'd be sorry. Lately, we have a whole new understanding of what he was talking about.

Keith has a really good brain, when he choses to use it. He recently got his black belt certification and in the normal course of events, he's damn good at his job. He's been married for more than ten years and has two very cute little boys. At some point before he got married, he got saved. He's devotely Christian. Not my thing, but whatever flips your switch.

I don't know if his attitude about work has changed lately, or if I just noticed. He comes in early and leaves early - which is fine in theory. Over here in reality, as a salaried employee, sometimes you need to be there longer. If Keith is there at 4:05, he's working overtime. Plus, he takes an hour at lunch every day to go hang out with his family. I'm not his boss, and as long as he gets his job done, whatever. But on those occasions when something is flaming out of control and he needs to stay, he'll sneak out. He leaves the computer on, and his task light, and leaves his beverage or whatever on the desk, but he is gone gone gone. In my view, if you have to leave work, you at least try to handle as much as you can before you go - you don't sneak out and not even tell people that you're gone.

But that's not what really drives me crazy. What drives me crazy is how he completely shuts his brain down regarding politics and religion. I don't really care whether you worship God or Allah or Buddha or bunnies and sunshine. Really. Whatever gets you through the day. I don't. I'm not going to try to impose my belief system on you and I prefer, no demand, the same consideration. Keith and I have been getting into ever more heated discussions about things because I'm apparently his new pet project. The other day, he started a conversation regarding abortion. I feel VERY strongly about this and my view is NOT even remotely the same as his. When he couldn't convince me that my view was wrong, he got so upset that he left for the day. Just walked out of the office and went home. I spent the rest of the day fuming about his nerve AND doing his job.

When that congressman got caught in a bathroom in an airport soliciting sex from a cop, Fox News ran the story - and called the guy a Democrat for a couple of days. Keith came into work gloating - this was further proof that the leftist liberals were completely amoral and all on a slow boat to damnation. When I told him I had no clue what he was talking about, he was gleeful in relating the story - and in total denial when I said the guy was a Republican. I had to go the the Congress' website and show him the guy's official website for him to believe me. By the next day, he'd convinced himself that those bastard liberals had set the guy up and/or completely fabricated the whole thing. What a difference a day makes.

His beliefs themselves aren't what bother me. Ok, well, they do, but they are his beliefs and unlike some people, I believe that each of us has the right to believe whatever crazy-*ss thing makes you happy. What bothers me, what drives me out of my tree crazy is his utter inability or unwillingness to look at either side with a remotely intelligent view instead of his gut belief. Ultra conservative Republicans are good christians, good people and only have his best interests at heart. Moderate Republicans or, gods help us all, Democrats of any stripe are evil, amoral and bent only on the destruction of all that we hold sacred. Nothing he sees, hears or reads makes a dent. No fact, no documentation - there is no gray area in his little world. So what really makes me nuts is what a sheep he is - and how many more there are like him out there.

For crying out loud, people, THINK! It's not illegal yet.